


How To Love A Loose Cannon

by TheUnbrokenHero (morningstarspunishment)



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Brat vs Bull, Cassandra Pentaghast - Freeform, Cremisius “Krem” Aclassi - Freeform, Cullen/Inquisitor but not really, Dirty Talk, Dom/sub, Friends With Benefits To Lovers, Grabbing Bull by the horns (literally), Jealousy, Multi, Nonbinary Inquisitor (Dragon Age), Pining, Porn with plot in order to write more porn, Sera (Dragon Age) - Freeform, Sex scenes with characters that aren’t the main pairing, Size Difference, Size Kink, Slutty inquisitor, The Inquisitor flirts with everyone alive, abuse of qunlat, cullen rutherford - Freeform, dorian pavus - Freeform, main purpose remains porn tho, she/they pronouns, sorry King, there was only one tent, trying to like other people but not actually managing it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:14:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28495923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morningstarspunishment/pseuds/TheUnbrokenHero
Summary: Inquisitor Gunnora Trevelyan has been playing a role for so long that they don’t know who they actually are. A mess? Probably the closest you can get.The Iron Bull doesn’t like not knowing the truth. He’s also perfectly fine with just screwing around until he figures it out... unless he isn’t...Join them as they both (but mostly Gunnora)  seemingly attempt to screw the entire Inquisition!Excerpt:“I’ll have to share with someone.” She sighed. “It’s alright. Which tent is least crowded?”“Mine.” Bull said with his low rumble. “I might take up a lot of space, but you don’t.” He tilted his head. “As long as you sleep with the anchor on the far side.”“I’m not sure it’s only the anchor you have to worry about, The Iron Bull. All of me is trouble.” The mage winked, taking the bandage and tucking it in, waving the healer off. Bull was smiling cheekily.“One day you’re going to end up talking game to the wrong person, Boss.”“Promises, promises, no one’s done a thing to me yet.” She rolled her shoulders and stood.
Relationships: (Main), Female Inquisitor/Iron Bull, The Iron Bull/Female Trevelyan (Dragon Age), The Iron Bull/Trevelyan (Dragon Age), other ships secondary
Comments: 9
Kudos: 31





	1. An Unexpected Inevitability

**Author's Note:**

> Okay now you’re here I’m going to warn you about rough sex, bad porn, and tropes galore.
> 
> Hope you have fun!

Gunnora Trevelyan awoke with a start, her eyes watering. She coughed, crawling her way out of her blankets and bursting from her tent, hissing as flames licked at her clothes and hair. She clambered out into the clearing, turning with streaming eyes to look at her tent going up in flames. “Shit.”

It was only hers, thank goodness, she thought as she cast winter’s grasp on the burning cloth, watching the flames stutter and fail. The tent wasn’t going to be salvageable. She turned and shook the sleeping guard on the other side of the fire.

“I nearly died because you were sleeping on the bloody job. I’m going to take you off field duty.” Gunnora growled, squatting down and glowering into the young soldier’s face. “When you’re entrusted with the night watch you take the whole camp into your hands, and you’re lucky all you dropped was me.”

“Ser-“ 

“No excuses. Go wake the officer in charge. I need to try to heal these blisters and see if we have another tent.”

The soldier scuttled off, and there was a quiet kind of ruckus that followed as a healer fussed over Gunnora’s wounds and the camp began to stir, one by one. Eventually, Bull, Sera, and Cassandra all rose. Cassandra immediately set about berating everyone who she could get within earshot, while Sera laughed loudly at the idea of the Inquisitor’s hair catching fire. Bull, however, just reacted as he always did. Standing back, arms crossed, evaluating everyone.

Gunnora admired that about him, but thought at times that he seemed to think he was the only one who could sit back and notice people’s behaviours. He was so used to watching that he forgot he could be watched. 

“Inquisitor, Ser, I’m sorry to report that we have no other tents, all tents are currently occupied-“

“I’ll have to share with someone.” She sighed. “It’s alright. Which tent is least crowded?”

“Mine.” Bull said with his low rumble. “I might take up a lot of space, but you don’t.” He tilted his head. “As long as you sleep with the anchor on the far side.”

“I’m not sure it’s only the anchor you have to worry about, _The_ Iron Bull. All of me is trouble.” The mage winked, taking the bandage and tucking it in, waving the healer off. Bull was smiling cheekily.

“One day you’re going to end up talking game to the wrong person, Boss.”

“Promises, promises, no one’s done a thing to me yet.” She rolled her shoulders and stood. “Shall we? The Seeker’s going to be at it for another hour, and I’m exhausted.”

“Lead the way.” Bull said. Gunnora grabbed a fresh bed roll and blanket before ducking into the Qunari’s tent, a standard two-man, but with Bull in it it was pretty much full. The Inquisitor couldn’t complain. She didn’t get a lot of interpersonal contact these days.

They settled down in an oddly heavy silence, and after they both tucked in, Bull propped himself up and turned to her. “Hey, Gunner?”

“What’s up?”

“Why  _ do _ you flirt?” He asked. “Usually, like, with Vivienne, I can tell people lay on the charm to get what they want, but you don’t do it charmingly. You just. Go at it. All the time. With everyone. And I can’t tell why.”

Gunnora looked at him, or rather, what she could see of him with the glow of the fire that shone through the thick canvas of the tent. It was hard to play to people when you couldn’t read how they were reacting. She forced herself to snort, throw herself back down into the bedding and twist her voice into something near laughter. “Maybe I’m just shooting shots,  _ The _ Iron Bull.”

“I’m not a person you can lie to that easily, boss.” He said, his voice a low rumble, as though he wanted to assure her that he’d keep her answers secret, that the Qunari spy would pass that piece of information to no one. Gunnora thought that that might be true. She also thought she didn’t want to have to depend on it. 

“Maybe I’m lying because even I don’t know the truth.”

“It’s about the circle, isn’t it?” He asked. Gunnora looked back at him, his hulking shadow, they were close. Very close. She frowned up at him, wondering if he could see in the dark better than she could with that one good eye. 

“Maybe.” That meant yes. Gunnora the Mage knew that _The_ Iron bull knew that ‘maybe’, in this situation, meant yes. 

“What was it like?” He sounded suddenly gentle. Gunnora hated that. “I’ve heard different things.”

“Pick your favourite tragic backstory and go with that.” She replied. Bull didn’t laugh. She swore internally.

“Boss.” He said, his voice low and serious.

“ _ The _ Iron Bull.” She replied coldly. 

“C’mon. You and I both know I can find out. And you and I both know I don’t want to do that. But I will.”

“Remind me why I agreed to hire a Ben Hassarath agent into the Inquisition?”

“Because I’m just that good.” He said, his voice curling with amusement for a moment before he settled back into his businesslike tone. “Gunner.” He said. It was the nickname that did it, ironically. The small sign of familiarity.

“Okay. Let's say, _theoretically_ , I was shipped off to the circle when I was a child. You were assigned your role under the Qun, right? Well. So was I. And let's say that my particular circle was full of attention grubbing rank climbers, eager to paw their way up the ladder at the first opportunity. Swapping ranks back and forth so fast you couldn’t find a familiar face in the crowd. Lets say I had to get the measure of every new Templar that walked those halls in a desperate attempt to tell who was safe and who was not.”

“Okay. Let’s say that.” Bull replied, voice monotone. Gunnora shifted back onto her side, staring at him in the darkness. 

“And in this situation, let's say the cute clueless kid bit wore off once I started growing up. I had to find a way to see how people would react to things they weren’t expecting.”

“In this situation,” Bull said, voice still even, “you could gauge how you’d be treated by these soldier’s reactions to you saying something unexpected.”

“You can tell a lot about a person by how they react to an unexpected advance.” She turned her back on Bull. “ _Hypothetically_.” 

Bull didn’t move for a while. He just watched her. “You’re playing a role. All the time, you’re just in character. Damn, how didn’t I see that sooner?”

Gunnora sat up, pulling the bandage she kept over the Anchor off and holding it high. Bull started, leaning a little away from it as she scowled at him. “Because I’m damn good at what I do.” She growled, looking straight into his face. “And you have no idea how far I’m willing to go.”

Iron Bull looked up at her with the air of a man looking at a chess board. “You know that this isn’t the circle you grew up in, and that you’re going to face the consequences of your actions.” 

“And what would those consequences be, The Iron Bull?” Gunnora asked with a smirk. 

“Oh, good to know you’re a little shit without the character too.” Bull grumbled, sitting up and returning the smirk. “Like I said outside, one of these days you’re going to talk game to the wrong person.”

“And like I said. No one’s done so yet.” 

There was a tense moment, and then Gunnora reached out, grabbing the back of Bull’s head and pulling him into a kiss. He caught up the hand she was holding aloft, pulling her down and pinning the achor beside her head, returning her kiss with force. She reached down, pulling one-handed at his trousers, but he grabbed her wrist. Without hesitation, he pinned it over her head along with the anchor. 

“Dammit Bull, quit teasing!” She growled as he pressed between her legs, tilting his head and biting her neck. She hissed, and he let out a low laugh.

“Who knew you were so quick and easy? What would everyone say if they knew their little Herald rolled over for the first spy they could get into a tent with and begged for it?” He leaned over her, his massive bulk eclipsing her easily. 

“Who’s begging?” She hissed, baring her teeth up at him. He smirked.

“Give it five minutes.” He pushed her tunic up, running his hand over her bindings like he was taking stock of her, examining her like livestock. She shivered at the cool confidence in his voice, but hers was steady when she spat her reply.

“Is that a bet?”

“Ten gold on it.” He growled, grinding against her. She gasped. He was- predictably- huge. His hard cock was easily the width of her forearm. Her eyelids fluttered as he pressed against her.

“You filthy tease-“ she snarled, hooking her legs up around his hips and grinding right back. “Joke’s on you if you give in first.”

“I’m not the puny little mage with my hands pinned.” Bull pointed out, pushing the fabric of her tunic up higher, over her head and around her arms before twisting and knotting it over her head. She made to yank it apart, but Bull tutted. “Think twice before you tear that- I don’t care if everyone knows I fucked you, but you should think a little about how Cassandra would take you strutting about without a shirt on tomorrow.”

Gunnora paused. “You do it.”

“Like I said. I don’t care. I’m also not the Herald of Andraste.”

“I’ve met desire demons less devious than you,  _ The _ Iron Bull.”

He grinned at her. “We’re going to have to do something about what you call me, Gunner.”

Gunnora snarled, but Bull grasped her waist and rolled his hips slowly against her. She bit back a whine, arching her back and squeezing his hips harder with her legs.

“What?” She panted, trying to smirk up at him, “Want me to call you Boss? Chief? Cap?”

Bull began slowly undoing her trousers, and she loosened her grip on him so he could slide them off. He cocked an eyebrow at her boxers, but she curled her lip. 

“Problem with my underthings, Big Guy?” She sneered. He smirked at her. 

“All bound up and in those, you’re practically Aqun-Athlok.”

“Doesn’t make a difference to you, does it?” 

“Nah.” Bull said, grinning, “it’s just funny.” 

“Well laugh it up, your time’s running low and you’ll owe me ten gold in about two minutes.” She teased, bringing her bound wrists down in front of her again and twisting slightly, making to slide one of her hands out.

“Oh no you don’t.” He snarled, bending back over her and pinning her hands overhead, sliding his other hand into her boxers. 

She sucked in a breath as his calloused hands slid against her skin, his fingertips teasing along her slit. Her eyes met his good one, and for a moment they both paused. Maybe if that moment had stretched longer, they would have come to their senses. Maybe if they gave themselves the time to think…

But Gunnora rocked her hips into his hand, and Bull bent down over her, sucking a bruise into her shoulder and making her gasp as she ground into him. 

“Gods, you’re so wet. That was quick. You been thinking about this for a while, Gunner?” He purred, his lips brushing against her skin as he kissed down to where her bandages began to cross over her chest. She hissed, shifting her hips again.

“You’re a filthy tease, don’t you have any respect for- ah…. for your superiors?” She breathed, struggling against the way her hands were bound and pinned overhead. There was the space of a heartbeat where Bull seemed to bristle, she could feel him tensing as he hung over her, sucking in a sharp breath against her skin.

He moved like he did when he fought. Fast, strong, terrifying. His hands gripped her hips and he flipped her over. Breathless from surprise, she struggled to bring herself up on her hands and knees, but a flat palm between her shoulder blades pinned her firmly to the tent floor. Her feet scraped for purchase as she pressed against him, only to be rewarded with a sharp swat across her ass. She swore, turning her head and pressing her cheek against the floor, craning to glare at Bull.

“Watch it. I’m giving you one last chance to back out now, because that attitude needs fixing, Basra.” He growled, running his hand up her side.

“Fuck, you think you scare me?” She spat. “The hell you calling me?”

“You’re not so big and bad without your rod, Basra.” He pressed a rough fingertip deep into a bruise he’d bitten into her shoulder earlier, and she hissed, her eyes fluttering closed. “I’m calling you what you are.  _ Thing _ . Purposeless little human. You have a lot of mouth and not a lot to back it up with. I can think of a few better uses for it off the top of my head so don’t push it. I’m telling you now. Tap out, and this never happened, no questions asked. But as it stands, you’re a snotty little mage who needs to be taught a lesson and I’m running out of patience.”

Gunnora huffed, blowing a lock of her shaggy hair out of her eyes and sneering. “You don’t have the nerve,  _ The- _ “ 

He cut her off with another slap to her ass, and she yelped, jerking as the place he’d struck stung and burned. She flopped limp, gasping for breath. He leaned down over her, his voice a low rumble that rattled through her like an earthquake.

“I think it’s time you called me Ser. That’s what you Basra call your superiors, isn’t it?” 

Gunnora’s breath was ragged, but she still managed to scoff at that. “Titles are earned, big guy. Hope that lesson you were gonna teach me wasn’t a lecture.”

He bit the side of her neck, high enough that the bruise would definitely show, and then pulled her to her knees. She made to slide her arms beneath her, but the hand between her shoulder blades pressed down again, her back arching sharply. She let out another huff, her arms stretched out flat over her head. “No you don’t.” Bull growled, “you keep your face on the ground where it belongs. I only have use for this.” He patted her tender ass, making her flinch slightly, and he chuckled. The hand between her shoulder blades slid down along her spine, making her shiver, but she kept the position he’d put her in, unsure if she could take a third slap to that same spot. 

Bull let out a low chuckle as he slid his hands over the fabric of her underwear. “See? You’re already learning your place. Maybe you’re not as hopeless as you seem.”

Gunnora growled at that, low in her throat, but she didn’t snap back, however much she wanted to. Slaps aside, the tight coil of want sitting low in her stomach was beginning to cloud her judgement. Bull was acting like a cocky asshole, but he definitely knew what he was doing with those oversized hands of his. 

He leaned over her, pressing a surprisingly gentle kiss to her back before taking her waistband in both hands and ripping her underwear open, letting it fall around her knees. She jerked up, glaring over her shoulder at him. “Hey!” She spat, taking in his cocky smirk, “those aren’t free, y’know!”

He shoved her back down to the ground, bringing her back to that strained arch, and she was suddenly aware that he was still fully clothed (by his standards, anyway) and she was basically naked and at his disposal. She flushed, her stomach tightening as his hands slipped back down her sides and he cupped her slit again, one broad finger slipping along it, teasing her entrance. “Don’t worry, you don’t need ‘em. Gods, you’re dripping for it. Y’know, Qunari believe that you can only be truly happy when you find your proper role? You seem pretty happy ass up under me, Basra.”

“Fucking bastard-“ Gunnora growled against the ground, her hands curling into fists. “Hurry up!”

Bull dipped his finger inside of her, infuriating and unsatisfying before pulling back and ghosting over her clit, refusing to commit. “That didn’t sound like ‘Yes, Ser’ to me…” He breathed, swatting lightly at her other cheek. Her flinch meant for a brief moment she pressed into his hand where she needed pressure most, but then he withdrew his hand to continue teasing. She felt her face burning, the whole situation made worse by the fact she’d never been more turned on in her life, her thighs trembling as she felt her own wetness drip down them. 

“C’mon, Bull…” She panted, desperation taking deeper root as he dipped his fingertip toward her entrance again, stopping short. “Don’t be such a hardass. I was just joking with you-“

That earned her another sharp swat, and she hissed, her thighs snapping together at the sting along her burning ass cheek. Bull pried them apart, taking his hand away from her pussy again as he spread her knees so wide she shook slightly with the effort to keep her ass high. Bull smoothed his hands over her burning cheeks approvingly, glancing quickly at her face. “I don’t wanna hear a word from you unless you’re telling me how happy you are to be face down for your  _ superior _ .” 

Gunnora shivered, her hands curling and uncurling in her knotted up tunic. She narrowed her eyes up at his face, then glanced down at the obvious swell in his trousers, and smiled, catching her lip between her teeth. “Do you really think your pride can outlast mine?” She purred, letting her voice fall into the raspy, desperate purr she’d been holding back since he’d first pinned her down. His eye widened slightly, but he planted another slap hard on the first cheek, making her gasp and jerk hard away from him. He looped an arm under her hips, heaving her off her knees entirely and swatting her thigh so hard Gunnora was sure that he’d leave a perfect imprint of his hand there. She cried out, finally pressing her forearms down to support her. He was getting impatient. She could handle this. She could outlast him. 

That was, until he started hissing Qunlat under his breath, growling words she couldn’t understand before dipping his head down and biting into her hip, then her ass. She gasped, one foot scrabbling for purchase against the tent floor, the other bracing on Bull’s muscular thigh. Something about the way he was spitting those words out made her feel like he was saying something foul, something unforgivable under his breath. His free hand found her entrance yet again, but this time he cruelly thrust one finger inside her, making her yelp, her eyes squeezing shut as she felt his finger- easily as thick as two of her own- stretch her open. He curled it sharply downward, pressing hard against her g-spot before he pulled it out and joined a second in with the first, still growling something she couldn’t understand as he fucked her mercilessly with his fingers, playing her out like he knew exactly what to do in order to send her to pieces. 

“B-Bull!” She whined, feeling herself tightening, tensing like a bow string being pulled taught. “I c-can’t.”

“Shanedan, pashaara.” He growled, curling his fingers brutally inside her and pushing her over the edge entirely. She grit her teeth, shockwave after shockwave washing over her as her body tightened hard around his fingers, making him growl something else, lower, more breathy. She gasped, falling limp despite herself. 

Bull, however, wasn’t finished. He set her down gently, but kept one hand on her hip, holding her up as he fumbled one handed with his trousers. Her arms and legs were still shaking as he lined himself up and began to push in.

Gunnora let out a pathetic noise as he began to press in, his thick cock stretching her wider than she thought she’d ever been spread before. In her haze, she whined, shaking her head. “N-not gonna f-fit…”

“You can take it,” He purred, his voice still carrying the lilt it had when he spoke Qunlat. “Just relax, like a good little Basra, there you go…” he rubbed her spine soothingly as he pressed further inside her, inch by inch. She arched, looking over her shoulder at him and panting, trying to see how much of him there was left. He smirked down at her. “You look good like this, Gunner. All spread wide on my cock and keeping your mouth shut for once.” 

The Inquisitor didn’t have enough sense to form a reply as he dragged himself out slowly, torturously. Gunnora pressed her face into her tunic, still tied around her wrists, and let out a sob as Bull leaned forward, grasping her hips in both hands and sank inside until he bottomed out. Her whole body shook and twitched as she felt him, hot and heavy and unreasonably big, stretching her too wide- it was too much, and she needed him to  _ move _ , because this might give her a heart attack if it kept on this slow.

“Gods, you’re so fuckin’ tight, I can’t believe you took it all… Good girl, little slut…” He wrapped his arm around her again, this time at the waist, and pulled her up so she was almost kneeling, as though praying, and he ground his hips against hers. She let out a whine that would have made her die with shame if she weren’t so far gone, and Bull wrapped his other arm around her too, cupping her lower stomach as he began to move his hips. 

Gunnora’s vision went white. Her brain seemed to have decided she didn’t need any sense that wasn’t related to Iron Bull, ramming his hips against hers as he fucked her brutally from behind. He was the only thing holding her up, she had no idea what he was purring in her ear- she couldn’t tell if it was Common or Qunlat or even Elven, and as far as she was concerned, it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered in her life at that moment was that the Qunari behind her Did. Not. Stop.

She vaguely became aware that she was making noise when he slowed down, the hand that had been on her stomach coming up to cover her mouth as he snarled something that could have been a threat or a promise in her ear, but she just swallowed another needy whine and rolled her hips as best she could.

Whatever she had managed, it worked. Bull slammed into her, growling in disjointed Qunlat as his thrusts became erratic and careless. He ducked his head, biting down hard on the crook of her neck to muffle his moan as his cock pulsed and twitched inside her. She jerked, her mind registering pain and his orgasm at the same time, and the knowledge of both pushing her over the edge again. He hissed as her muscles squeezed brutally around him, as though her body wanted to keep him there.

Eventually, after they both came down, he slipped out, and they both tumbled onto the nearest pile of blankets. They lay there panting for a while, Gunnora’s mind slowly beginning to stutter back into a roll. When she finally managed to untie her own hands, she looked up at Bull and grinned. 

“You got into that.” She teased, pinching his hip. He smirked at her. 

“How’s your ass?” He bit back. She wrinkled her nose and smoothed her hands over the tender skin.

“I’ll be sore for a week. Are the bruises bad?”

“Nah, people are just gonna think you got attacked by a Gurgut or something.” Bull said, prodding a hickey on her shoulder. Gunnora scowled. 

“You’re a shit. You tore my boxers too, and I don’t have spare clothes in your tent.”

Bull grinned cheekily, and Gunnora sat up, ruffling her hair and casting around for the anchor’s bandage. “That was really good.” Bull admitted, sounding impressed. The Inquisitor turned her head and peered down at him with her eyebrows raised.

“You thought it wouldn’t be?”

Bull shrugged. “Well, I figured you were a brat, but no one’s gotten me that riled up in… actually, I don’t remember the last person who riled me up that much.”

Gunnora grinned. “Brat. I think I like that.” She rolled her shoulders and shook her tunic, pulling it on and looking around. “What was all that Qunlat you spoke?” She asked. Bull kicked his leg out, looking away from her for a moment. “Sounded like you were either cursing my name to dust or talking dirtier than anyone ever should.” She pressed, prodding his side. Bull reached up and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back down beside him and closing his eye. 

“Maybe you’ll be able to trade for that information another time.” He sighed. “Now shut up and go to sleep. I liked you best when you couldn’t talk.” 

Gunnora laughed, but settled in beside him, too tired and satisfied to press any further. She’d remind him he owed her ten gold in the morning, anyway.


	2. A Riot Behind Glass and Cork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just something quick to set up a little more of Gunnora’s character and the dynamic here. Short, limited flirting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dorian in the next chapter, gosh, I’ve missed these guys.

Bull was sitting in the tavern in his usual spot, listening to the chatter and watching the interactions between soldiers. He liked to get a read on the temperature amongst the ranks, not to mention the way some of them spoke about the Inquisitor. She’d earned some fairly… colourful titles over the last few months.

One soldier in the far corner was nursing a flagon of ale and talking about how ‘The Herald winked at her every time she handed them a report.’ Only to be shouted over by a tipsy requisition officer who claimed the Inquisitor had started undressing in the middle of camp while he’d had to read the new request for blood lotus and elfroot for the front lines. Bull smirked. Varric had told him about that. Apparently Gunner had some kind of thorn in her trousers and couldn’t be asked to keep them on a second longer.

He was glad, really, that he’d signed up. Money and fighting aside, he thought he’d never met someone as chaotic as that crazy Mage before that freezing day on the Storm Coast.  _ She’d been about the last thing he’d expected, short and androgynous, her nose crooked where some Templar had apparently smashed it in her youth, and her eyes sharper than knives as she strolled up, her staff in hand. _

The door flew open, and Gunner herself bolted in, sprinting up the stairs holding something in her hand. Bull tilted his head, half wanting to follow her and see what was up, but then he heard her heavy steps stop outside Sera’s room.

“BEES!” She shouted, and there was a scuffle and a peel of manic laughter. 

Sera said something in an excited tone that Bull couldn’t quite make out, and they both came down the steps. Sera was holding the Jar high, shaking it excitedly and looking at what Bull could now see was about a hundred insects buzzing angrily inside. Gunner was grinning, hopping up to the bar and loudly calling for a round for everyone, on the house. There was a massive cheer, and Gunner and Sera both grasped their pints and raised them high, clapping them together with a little more force than needed.

“To Bees!” Sera shouted, and Gunner let out another manic laugh.

“To bees!” The tavern echoed. Bull rose, walking up to the two by the bar and handing his flagon to the bartender to fill. Gunner tilted her head back and grinned up at him, picking the jar back up and offering it to him.

“Sera got us the hookup on a recipe for a very snazzy new kind of grenade. Three guesses on the ingredients, and I’ll tell you what, the first one won’t even count.”

Bull scoffed, taking the jar from her and setting it back down. “Is it bees?”

Gunner beamed and took a massive swig of ale. “Smarter than you look,  _ The _ Iron Bull.” She turned back to Sera, still grinning. “You deserve a reward for this one.” She slid her arm along the counter, bringing herself closer to the rogue. “Anythin’ you’ve been aching for, Sera?”

Bull rolled his eye, holding back a laugh as Sera leaned in, fluttering her eyelashes in an exaggerated way. “Oh, that depends on what’s on offer, Quizzy.”

Bull turned his head slightly, taking a long swig of ale and trying to ignore the familiar low tone Gunner’s voice took on as she replied. 

“I’m entirely at your command, I assure you.” She purred. Bull tightened his grip on his flagon, feeling an unbidden spark of irritation bloom in his chest as Sera giggled. 

“I’ll have to wrack my brains for something good then.” She said, smirking.

Bull let out a laugh that he hoped didn’t sound as forced as it was. “That won’t take long, Sera!” He boomed, setting his flagon down with a thud. Sera looked up at him with her usual shouting laugh. 

“Comin’ from you, ay, muscles for brains?” She barked, looking around for something to toss at him. Gunner finally turned her head and looked back up at him, laughing under her breath. The irritation he felt seemed to flicker for a moment, dying down as she leaned back on the counter and shifted her attention back onto him. 

“And what’ve you brought ‘round, other than this rowdy bunch of mead drinkers and a fat bill every week?” She teased, tilting her head to the side. Her eyes were positively  _ gleaming _ with mirth.

Bull sneered. “Other than watching your ass on damn near every mission, you mean?”

“Shouldn’t you be watching something other than my ass?” She retorted, making Sera snicker into her pint.

Bull crossed his arms, smirking down at her. “Maybe I can multitask.”

“And maybe I’d believe you could keep an eye both on my back  _ and _ my ass if you had more than one,  _ The _ Iron Bull.” Gunner leaned toward him and leered up in his face. Sera let out a shout, slamming her pint down and cackling. 

Bull had never wanted to bend someone over in public so badly before that moment. He felt his lip curl, and Gunner snorted, tossing back the last of her pint and picking the jar of bees up again, giving it a shake.

“I gotta go, places to see, people to do, y’know. I’m a busy person.” She tossed the grenade up at Bull, who caught it with a snap of his wrist. Gunner grinned and turned, running her hand up Sera’s arm and over her shoulders. “Don’t forget, I still owe you, Sera, sugar.” She said, winking before making her way out of the tavern. Sera watched her go, then turned back Bull, smirking.

“She’s somethin’ else, in’t she?”

“No kidding.” Bull said, setting the bees on the counter and sliding them down to Sera. “Least she bought a round though.” 

Sera laughed and agreed, picking the bees up and slamming back her pint before patting Bull on the elbow. “I have to go too, need to make sure I have a few a’these for the mission in the Hinterlands tomorrow. You on the team?”

“Yeah.” He said, “And pretty boy too.”

Sera laughed. “What does ‘Nora think she’s playin’ at?”

“Gunner thinks he’s funny.”

“And so do you, ha!” Sera called, jogging up the stairs back to her room, “Looks like it’s not her ass you’ll be watchin’ this week!”

Bull paused for a moment before finishing his drink, and then shook his head.  _ Maybe not. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs for this chapter:
> 
> Gunner: Danger To Myself, The Unlikely Candidates
> 
> Sera: Go Hard (La.La.La.), Kreyshawn
> 
> Bull: Friend of the Devil, Adam Jensen


	3. What’re You Lookin’ At?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gunner and Bull have The Talk (and also they bone again)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I struggled with naming this chapter I had to ask a really good friend for help lol

Gunnora rolled her shoulder as they walked back into camp, splattered with blood and sweaty. The requisition officer looked up, springing to her feet and scrambling to put her helmet back on. 

“Ser!”

“Hello, Officer Tennet.” She drawled, pulling a nettle off her graves and stomping right past her, toward the stream behind the tent. “What on earth did I do wrong in my life that people put clothes  _ on _ when I walk into the room?” She laughed, looking over her shoulder as she began pulling off her vambraces. 

“All the best intentions go awry, my dear Inquisitor.” Dorian responded with a smirk. He looked down at himself and frowned. “Although given the state you tend to get us all into it’s surprising we don’t all put on aprons when you approach.”

“Oooh, you in an apron, I might need to see that vision come to life.” Gunnora teased, winking. Sera laughed, flinging down her bags and joining the Inquisitor by the stream. 

“Make that two of us!” Sera called, “Especially if it comes with you cookin’ somethin’ half decent, I’m starvin’!”

Dorian looked over his shoulder at Bull, who was bringing up the rear of the party and setting his axe leaning up against the nearest tree. “No snappy comment from you? Don’t you mean to shock us all with your sparkling wit?”

Bull snorted, standing back as Dorian began to take his armour off. “Maybe I don’t want to see you in anything at all, Vint.”

Dorian made an exaggerated sound of shock, and Gunnora let out a laugh, kicking her trousers off. She splashed into the stream, still wearing her binder and her boxers. Sera laughed as she dipped her head under the water and sprang back up, gasping. “Bloody hell that’s cold!” She barked, her voice echoing through the trees as she scrubbed the sand and silt from the bottom along her arms to get the dried blood off. She looked over at the others, grinning. “What, no one else is going to bother cleaning up? Gross, glad I don’t share a tent with any of you.” 

“Be patient, will you!” Sera snapped, pulling her belt off, “We’re not all mages who don’t wear any bloody armor.” 

“Oi! I wear armor!” Gunnora said, smirking, “just cause you’re always thinking about me out of it-“

“Oooh,” Sera called, shimmying her shoulders. “Quizzy, always so quick with the comebacks.” She finished stripping down and leapt into the stream too, ducking under the water’s surface and then shaking her hair out, spraying Gunnora with water. Finally, Dorian stepped into the water upstream from them both, quickly rinsing the blood from himself and climbing back out, snatching up his pile of armour back to his tent.

“I hate to see you leave so soon, Dorian!” Gunnora called out from the water, grinning.

“Let me guess,” He called, “But you love to watch me go.”

“Am I so predictable?”

“Yes.” Bull and Dorian ground out in unison. Dorian ducked into the tent and Bull sighed, walking over and hopping into the stream fully clothed. Gunnora looked up at him. 

“Oh, no eyeful from you today? I feel cheated!” She teased, smirking up at him. Bull rolled his eye. 

“You’d need both eyes and a friend’s pair of eyes to get a load of me, Gunner.” He retorted, washing the blood from his chest. Sera climbed out of the water, wrinkling her nose.

“Hope you don’t mind that I skip out on that show.” She called, grabbing up her clothes as she walked by and hopping into her tent. Gunnora ducked back beneath the water and then stood, rolling her right shoulder and sighing. 

“You’re hurt. You’ve been hiding it.” Bull said in the usual low tone he took up when saying something she wished he didn’t know. She rolled her eyes.

“Don’t you ever get tired of being right?” She spat, flexing her fingers and then frowning up at him. “Don’t worry, it’s just the cold water and a bad joint.” He smirked. 

“Don’t you ever get tired of lying your ass off?”

“What is it they say? Takes one to know one?” Gunnora said, running her fingers through her short hair and scowling. Bull frowned at her. 

“I haven’t lied to you.”

“Yeah, but you are a spy.” She pointed out. Water ran over her skin in freezing rivulets, dripping onto the stones as she climbed back out of the stream. She heard Bull follow her as she made her way over to the fire, pulling a stump nearer and sitting down. Bull dropped down beside her on an overturned Gunnora held her hands out, spreading her fingers wide and smiling at the warmth. Bull watched her fingers curl and uncurl again.

“You get cold easily.”

She looked up at him and then shrugged. “Sure. Lots of folk do.” She looked back at the fire, and the silence grew heavy. 

“Do you wanna fuck again?” Bull asked, his face straight. “We haven’t talked about it.”

“What needs saying? It was good. I enjoyed it. Wouldn’t mind doing it again. You?”

“‘Course.” He said, his lips twitching, the hint of a smile.

“Tonight?” She offered, one eyebrow flicking upward. Bull really did smile at that. 

“Eager, aren’t you?” He said. She shot him a dirty look then placed her warm hand on her shoulder, sighing with relief. He pressed on, his tone more businesslike. “I think we should talk about it first.” 

“Then talk. I already know you’re Qunari. I know you don’t feel romantic attraction and sexual attraction all at once, directed to one person. We’re friends, we both need to get it out somewhere, and no matter how hard you stare at Dorian while we travel it’s not the same as actually getting some. Trust me, I’ve had more than one rough and tumble. I’m not doe-eyed over you so I don’t really see what there is to address.”

“That was actually the gist of it.” Bull said, nodding. “I just needed to know you’re on the same page as I am.”

“We’re so in sync.” Gunnora teased, “No wonder you’re such a decent lay.”

Bull sneered, leaning forward and propping up his elbows on his knees. “You know, I handled your snark a lot better before I learned how to shut you up.”

“Oh, glad to know you’ve been thinking about it.” Gunnora said, a shiver running up her spine as she dropped her voice another octave. “You been reliving what it was like when you were the one calling the shots? Rubbing the skin off to the idea of teaching me who’s boss?”

Bull pressed his tongue to his cheek for a moment, glaring at her, but before he could retort, Dorian burst from his tent in a finely woven Tevinterian silk shirt and trousers. He perched on the other side of Gunnora, giving her a once over. 

“You know,” He said, looking pointedly at her sodden bindings, “You could have something made that would do that just as well.”

Gunnora turned to him with her most charming smile and batted her eyelashes dramatically. “Oh, Dorian, all I ever wished for was your guidance in this matter.’’ She pulled on the front of her bandages, feeling the comforting squeeze around her ribs. “You’re not wrong though. I actually think I should, now I’m a big official amongst the fancy folk. Never was good at that.”

“You astound me.” Dorian deadpanned, looking her up and down. Gunnora grinned at him. 

“You’re something.” She said, tilting her head. He smiled back.

“Aren’t I?” 

Bull snorted, shaking his head and standing up. “Yeah, you really are. I’m going to change.” He growled, stomping over to his tent and ducking into it. 

It was a few hours before Gunnora was finished with paperwork and dealing with camp business. Dorian had eventually bullied her into pulling a tunic over her wet underthings as she marked out new areas on maps and discussed supply requirements with the soldiers. 

Finally, she clambered into her tent, tired and achy from cold wet cloth sitting next to her skin for too long. She peeled the boxers off first, then her Tunic, before slowly unravelling the bindings around her chest. She closed her eyes as the last of the bandage fell away, sucking in an uninhibited breath and letting her eyelids flutter as she stood, naked and chilled in the still air, heavy with darkness and silence. She pulled on another tunic in the dark, flopping down onto her bed roll and closing her eyes.

She was beginning to drift off to sleep when the entrance parted, and Iron Bull ducked into the tent, one horn scratching along the canvas as he tilted his head. “Shit. You awake?” He asked in a voice that was barely more than a breath. Gunnora sat up, rolling her shoulders and looking at him. 

“Are you going to get in here or am I going to have to start without you?” She bit. “I was half expecting to hear rustling in Dorian’s tent tonight considering how long you took to get here.”

Bull smirked, sliding in and tossing the damp clothes still strewn across the floor aside. “I’m not the one who made meal plans for half of Fereldan before fucking off to bed.” He said, leaning over her. She pushed him back, climbing into his lap and immediately unfastening his belt. 

“Well you’re fucking a powerful person, this comes with sacrifices,  _ The _ Iron Bull.” She sneered, making to undo his trousers. He caught her hands, cocking his eyebrow at her.

“I think you seem pretty powerless when you’re fucking me.” He hissed. Gunnora met his eye, spreading her legs wide over his thighs, sinking down into his lap and rocking her hips, grinding down on his semi. 

“Is that what you think?” She hissed. Bull hummed, both hands snapping to her hips as he held her still, pushing up against her.

“You should know better than to play this game.” He hissed, his hands pulling her hem up. He froze, looking down at where she was seated in his lap. Gunnora smirked, tilting her head. 

“Problem,  _ The _ Iron Bull?”

“ _ Saarebas-ost… _ Basra, you’re not wearing anything under that, are you?” Bull hissed, pushing the tunic up further and staring at her, naked from the waist down and spread over his lap.

“You ruined the last pair.” She pointed out. “If it’s a problem I could always put some on?” She made as though she was going to get up off his lap, but he held her still and growled low in his chest. 

“Oh no you fucking don’t.” He pulled the tunic roughly over her head and let out a hiss as he looked at her, fully naked for the first time. “Basra, no wonder you hide that body of yours, you’re a walking crime.” He growled, “you look like someone straight out of Varrics dirty books. If you weren’t such a pain in the ass I’d wonder if you were a damn Desire demon.” 

Gunnora rolled her eyes, arching away from him slightly in an attempt to catch his eye before giving him an exasperated look. “No need to wax poetic, they’re just tits.” She resisted the urge to cross her arms over her chest.

“Great tits.” He said, ducking his head and taking one of her nipples into his mouth, nipping at it sharply before switching to the other, one of his hands coming up to cup the first. Gunnora gasped, rolling her hips again. Her hands slid over his shoulders, finally settling on his harness and gripping it tightly as he bit hard over the spot on her shoulder where he’d bitten before, pressing the bruise back into place with his teeth. She gasped, her hips stuttering.

“Hn, that just healed, you ass.”

“That’s why I bit it again.” He said, kissing it before returning to her breasts, kneading and sucking at them as though perfectly content to do nothing else all night. A whine rose from her throat, a hand coming up and grasping one of his horns, pulling lightly. He froze.

“I want you to fuck me.” She huffed, pulling again on Bull’s horn. He looked up at her, an unreadable expression on his face. Gunnora realised she may have just crossed some kind of line without realising it, and began to loosen her grip. 

Bull snatched up a handful of her hair, his other hand pressing over the one on his horn, crushing it against the hard, rough surface. 

“You stupid little  _ Basra _ , fucking  _ Dathrasi- _ “ he snarled, rolling his hips against her again. “Damn whore,  _ filthy little Saarebas… _ ” 

Gunnora was holding back another broken whine, her head jerking back as he pulled on her hair, baring her neck to the angry Qunari as he began to push her hand lower, closer to the base of his horn. His eye flickered, and he let out a heavy exhale. 

It clicked. Gunnora reached up and grabbed his other horn, close to the base, and pulled lightly, grinding down on his dick and feeling the wonderful friction of his trousers beneath her. Bull groaned, his hand tightening in Gunnora’s hair and making her gasp. 

The hand over hers slid up her arm, then fell into her lap, quickly one finger slid inside of her. It was easy, given how wet she was, and then he added the second. He was being sloppier than last time, more desperate. Gunnora panted, rocking her hips into his hand, holding onto his horns for dear life.

Bull’s other hand finally released her hair, coming to fumble with the fastenings of his trousers. He pulled his hard dick out at the same time he withdrew his fingers from her, guiding her hips to position her over him and pressing the hot head of his cock against her. 

He paused, but Gunnora let out a high pitched whine, sliding her hands along his horns again and trying to press down past where he held her. “Bull! Please!” She whined, straining against his bruising grip. “I want it.”

Bull growled something in Qunlat, his voice low and gravelly, running sraight through her. With a low word that was certainly some kind of curse, he began to push up into her. Gunnora leaned forward, resting her forehead against his chest as he stretched her open around his cock, massive and perfect and just dancing along the border of pain. Her hands slid along his horns again, her thumbs brushing his skin as she let out a little dry sob and then gasped as he bottomed out inside her. Pausing, he held her still, even as she twitched and shuddered, trying feebly to move them.

“Forgot how tight you are.” He growled in her ear. “Hold still, can’t move yet-  _ fuck, _ it’s like you wanna pull my damn dick off, Gunner-“

“Please…” Gunnora hissed against his skin, full, stretched to her very limit. Already, she could feel that too-tight coil of impending orgasm in her stomach as his dick throbbed inside her. He growled something in Qunlat under his breath in that vicious tone that sent her nerves rattling. 

Finally, after an eternity, Bull began to slide back out, practically moving her up rather than his hips, bouncing her up and down over him. The grip she had on his horns tightened as he rolled them forward, putting her back to the ground and slamming into her harder. She let out a strangled shout, and this time he didn’t try to shush her, like he was too far gone himself. He snapped his hips to hers, occasionally swearing in Common, or growling something in Qunlat that made her eyelids flutter. 

She had no idea how long it took for her to break, arching and pulling on his horns as though she could stop herself from losing control if she just kept him in her grip. 

Bull didn’t stop for her, though. He just snarled something about ‘ _ Basra’ _ and kept fucking her, dragging her orgasm out so long her eyes watered, her whole body tensing and jerking as her nerves all fired at once. Her body was so sensitive, sore and shaky as he bit her neck again, pulling back just to murmur something that sounded like “Good brat” into her ear, not even slowing down as the tears spilled over, dripping into her hair. She kept gripping his horns like a lifeline until finally she felt him jolt, slamming deep inside of her and moaning, long and low as he came inside her. 

She gasped as she felt his cock pulse. They both settled, catching their breath before he slipped out of her and dropped onto the bedroll that was far too small for him. Gunnora smiled at the sight. 

Bull smiled back, the corner of his eye crinkling. “Y’know,” he said, “I was really expecting to drag this one out.”

“Glad you didn’t.” Gunnora sighed, rolling over and resting her head on his chest, listening to the comforting drumbeat of his heart. “You practically fucked me in half as it is.”

He laughed, throwing his arm around her shoulders. “Oh man, just wait till I get you into a real bed.”

“Don’t know why I’m waiting, considering you’ve had two damn weeks since the last one to buck up and knock on my door.”

“And why was it me who it came down to?”

Gunnora smirked, rolling back off him and stretching her legs. “I didn’t wanna make you feel like you had to. I’m your boss, after all.” 

Bull rolled his eye and scoffed. Gunnora hesitated. Curiosity pulled at the corner of her mind. “You liked it when I pulled your horns.”

Bull shrugged. “You liked it when I called you names.” 

Gunnora’s lip curled. “Does it feel good, or does it hurt?”

“Little of both.” Bull paused, thinking his response out. “They’re rooted pretty deep in our skulls. It’d be like me pulling on your ear or your arm to get your attention.” 

She hummed in response, nodding. Eventually another question found its way forward. “What names  _ are _ you calling me? Useless thing, Basra. What’s Saarebas? And the other ones?”

Bull inhaled, frowning. “They don’t translate too well.  _ Saarebas _ is the word for Mage, but it means ‘Dangerous Thing’. I can’t remember everything I called you, though. I wasn’t focusing on being eloquent.” 

She laughed, but it was cut short as she gripped her aching shoulder. “Ah, shit.”

“Still bugging you?”

“Yeah. It’s just the weather or the cold, probably.” She said dismissively, rotating it and flinching at the audible ‘pop’ that rang through the air as the joint seemed to snap back into order. Bull flinched.

“What the hell happened to your arm?”

“Ah, got yanked out of the socket when I tried sneaking out of my circle back in the day.” She said, “using ropes to get out of towers sounds like a great idea until you’re hanging one handed from the damn thing, swaying in the wind twenty feet off the ground.” She wrinkled her nose. “Popped the damn thing right outta the socket when I hit the wall just wrong. I was in so much pain the Templar that found me took pity and didn’t report me. I was this close to going Tranquil.” She shivered, and Bull scowled.

“You’re another one who wouldn’t’ve done well under the Qun.”

Gunnora jabbed him in the stomach. “I do pretty good under a Qunari though, ha!”

Bull groaned and wrapped his arm around her neck, ruffling her hair with his other hand. “You’re a nightmare, Boss.”

She bit his forearm and he jerked his arm away, letting her sit up and pull on her tunic. She looked down at him and sighed. “If you’re feeling as lazy as I am, you probably wanna just stay, huh?”

Bull shrugged. “Don’t wanna start trouble, or rumours, or whatever.”

“I can say I got nervous that the tent was gonna burn again. Say I keep having dreams about it, and wanted an extra pair of hands around in case shit went south. You did volunteer to be my  _ personal _ bodyguard, if I remember correctly.” She shrugged. “Or you can go back to yours. I don’t care. It was just an offer.”

Bull hesitated for a moment, and then shrugged, fastening his trousers and rolling off the bedding so that Gunnora could rearrange the padding and blankets. They ended up side by side, his arm thrown lazily over her as they fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> Gunner: D Is For Dangerous, Arctic Monkeys
> 
> Sera: Trouble, The New Respects
> 
> Dorian: Raging on a Sunday, Bohnes 
> 
> Bull: Up All Night, Alex Clare


	4. Wounds, New and Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bull gets hit and Gunner gets hit on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I am also in the middle of a couple final exams so like this is how i'm unwinding and releasing all my pent up fury but WOW this chapter was long sorry bout that

Bull wondered, quietly, why on  _ earth _ he tolerated the mages he’d been roped into traveling with. The fact that every mage in the Inquisition was pretty and conniving aside, they  _ all _ needed some kinda lesson pounded into them. Gunner and Dorian  _ both _ kept acting up as they trekked across the mountains. The path was too narrow for horses (not that Bull liked riding anyway) and Dorian kept whining about it. Gunner was flirting shamelessly with both Dorian, who encouraged her, and Sera, who returned the favor. One of her wrists had a bruise on it that Bull kept wondering if he was responsible for, and she was walking with a sway in her hips that he wasn’t sure she’d had before.

“Oh! Quick!” She called, excitedly clambering up onto the rocks, “Someone mark the map! There’s another Iron vein here!” She grinned over her shoulder, and Sera sighed as she marked the map with yet another circle. Gunner turned and pouted, her shoulders slumping slightly. 

Bull felt a sudden urge to bite her bottom lip that he wrestled back.

“What? Am I boring you?” The Inquisitor asked, still pouting as she clambered back down onto the path. “Do I need to do something to make this more exciting for you Sera?”

Sera looked up from the map and smiled. “It wouldn’t hurt, eh?”

Gunner sniffed in an exaggerated way, crossing her arms and turning her back on the party. “Guess we’ll go find a fight to get into.”

Dorian snorted, strutting past them all up the hill. “That’s a new tactic from you, Inquisitor.” He called, “Freezing them out now, are we? Guess you had to vary the charm somehow.” Bull tilted his head, looking at the way Dorian’s lower back curved right over the swell of his muscular ass.  _ This job was going to kill him _ . 

“Unless you say you miss the old one, Dorian, my dear.” Gunner called, strolling after him without making any real effort to catch up.

“I don’t think anyone would.” He laughed, and she joined in, but Bull felt another spark of irritation catch in his chest. 

Sera let out her usual shout of mirth and followed along, leaving Bpull to bring up the rear as usual. They trudged along for another hour or so, Sera relating a story about a lord who had pissed off enough of their servants that someone passed the keys to his palace off to the Jennys, who ransacked his bedroom while he was away. Gunner was laughing, and eventually she ran her fingers through her hair and grinned at them all.

“You know what? I think that was my uncle, Lord William Trevelyan. I remember getting a letter from my mother about how thieves stole some priceless family heirloom from him when they stripped his private wing to the foundations.” She grinned wider than ever. “Wish I coulda seen his face when he realized that stupid statuette was missing.”

Dorian turned around, his eyes alight. “Do you think it was really him?”

Gunner looked over at Sera. “Do you know why the Jennys got the keys? What the lord did to earn the robbery?”

Sera paused for a moment, her eyes pointing toward her crooked fringe as she struggled to remember the details of the ransacking. “I think… It was something to do with his cook?”

“Ah hah!” Gunner shouted, pointing at Sera, “He  _ almost always  _ sent back food and insulted the cook. He told me when I was a child it was the best way to make sure your food was always perfect, If you made the cook feel like they weren’t good enough. That’s him alright!” She let out a bark of manic laughter. “Man, they robbed him  _ blind _ . My mother still won’t talk to him, she’s so angry he let that stupid trinket get stolen.” 

Dorian smiled, his dark eyes sparkling as he watched Gunner bump her hip against Sera’s. Bull felt himself begin to smile too, and looked away from them all. Gunner launched into an explanation of her family’s troubles, and why she seemed so reluctant to contact them now, but Bull heard something high over the ridge that didn’t seem quite animal. He tensed, trying to catch sight of the thing responsible, just in time to hear a bow string pull taught.

“Get down!” He shouted, lurching forward and shoving the Inquisitor and Dorian aside. An arrow lodged itself firmly in his forearm, exactly where Gunner’s head had been just moments before. He swore, snapping it off and grabbing the handle of his battle axe, heaving it from its harness.

Gunnora’s staff flashed, and there was the crackle of magic in the air, the taste of ozone hanging heavy as there was a scream and a crash. Bull leapt up onto the ridge, climbing over the rock to find a Venatori archer and a shield toting zealot, both obviously suffering from electricity burns. Bull smashed his axe over the shield of the zealot. It fell to shivers under the force. The venatori crashed to the floor, shouting in pain. There was another crack as Gunner clambered over the ridge and cast something that froze the archer solid. She let out a victorious shout, using the blade on her staff to snap the frozen man in half. She turned and hurled another spell on a new target. 

There was a Venatori standing between the tents. Bull hadn’t registered him through the haze of adrenaline and pain running through him. Gunner shouted again, casting a spell that reduced the last enemy to a pile of smoking ash. “Hah!” She laughed, her voice deep with bloodlust and her face contorted as she breathed heavily. She looked up at Bull, eyes ablaze, and her bared teeth clenched slightly. He couldn’t tell if she was smiling.

“You good?” She asked, her voice still gravelly. He nodded. 

“No you aren’t. Let me see your arm.” She growled, stomping forward and examining the arrow. It had missed anything important, and she gripped his hand crushingly as she slid it out. Bull hissed, but Gunner didn’t hesitate, unbuckling her armour and ripping a thick strip of fabric from her tunic. She wrapped his arm quickly, calling over her shoulder to Dorian, who was checking the Venatori camp with Sera.

“Do you have any potions?” She asked, and Dorian patted down his belt before shaking his head. 

“Fresh out.” He called back. “Let me see if they have any in the tents.”

Gunner scowled, turning back to his arm and knotting it tightly. “I’ve just got Lyrium left. That won’t help anything.” She muttered, more to herself than Bull. She glanced up at him, her eyebrows furrowed angrily. “You know, that was real stupid. What if it had hit an artery? You’d have been dead as a doornail in minutes.”

“You’da been dead quicker if I hadn’t.” Bull snapped, the irritation he’d been holding back breaking over them both. Gunner scowled up at him. 

“I could have cast shield. Or if you hadn’t pushed me I could have ducked.” She growled. Bull’s lip curled.

“ _ You _ should be  _ thanking _ me.”

“That’s rich.” She snapped back, “save that for someone who it’ll work on.”

It took every ounce of self control he had not to throw her over his shoulder and stomp off somewhere. Hell, he probably could have just taken her right there, in front of the other two and the smoking remains of the idiots who’d attacked them, but he just straightened up. He had to get a handle on these impulses. She was becoming a bad habit.

Gunner scoffed and turned away, barking at the other two. “Hey! Grab anything decent, we’re going straight back to camp. Bull needs a potion and we need to rest and restock if there are Venatori in the area. Dorian, I want to speak with you.”

Bull shouldered his axe, unable to put it back in its harness now that the pain of his wound was setting in. 

Two hours of trekking later, and they were back where they had started, Gunner snapping orders at everyone to tend to Bull and get the tents set up for the four of them. Bull watched the soldiers buzz about, erecting an extra tent and speaking to the Inquisitor and Sera about the requisitions and the Venatori sighting. A healer fussed over Bull, examining the wound and patching him up as well as they could. 

Eventually, Dorian trod over, standing before him with his arms crossed. “You uh. You pushed the Inquisitor  _ and _ me out of the way back there.” He said. Bull looked up at him.

“Yeah. And?”

Dorian scowled, smoothing his hair back. “Well, it’s just. Well, I’m not the person you’ve been hired to guard.”

Bull shrugged. “So?”

The Vint let out an exasperated noise, throwing his hands up dramatically. “Thank you? I suppose?”

“Well, at least someone bothered.” Bull growled, waving the healer off and looking at Dorian, sizing him up. Dorian was looking at him expectantly. Bull shook his head. 

“Oh for the Maker’s sake!” Dorian burst out, “What else do you want me to say?”

Bull sighed. “Listen. I saved your life because that’s what I do. If you want to thank me, that’s fine, but I’m not sure what you want me to say about it.”

There was a heavy moment, and Dorian looked at Bull, his eyes sliding over him slowly as Bull sat back and waited. Finally, the Mage sucked in a breath.

“Well, that’s enough gratitude from me for the month. I really deserve a medal for tolerating you all.” He turned, casting Bull one last sidelong glance. Bull smirked, jerking his chin at him. Dorian flushed slightly and stormed off. 

Sera drifted by after a while, handing him a bowl of ram stew and asking if he felt alright. He brushed the injury off. “Gunner just overreacted because they had a close call. You know how they get. Jumpy.”

“Jumped up, more like.” Sera ground out with a grin, shoving a spoonful of stew into her mouth and waving the bowl at him, speaking through the food. “Mind you, I still haven’t sealed the deal.”

Bull shrugged. “Don’t know what to tell you on that. Maybe you just don’t move quick enough. She might need a firm hand.” He said it like he was just making a suggestion. His focus slipped over to Gunner, leaning over the potions table and glaring at a beaker like it had done her a personal wrong. 

Sera laughed, shaking her head. “She damn near scares me. All that magic shit. Imagine wakin’ up and she’s turned you into a dog or somethin’.”

“Ah, she’s not  _ that _ crazy.” 

“She’s not that sane either. I reckon that’s half the reason she does it. Everyone’s too frightened to actually stick it to ‘er, so she’s just gone mad holdin’ it in all the time.”

Bull snorted and changed the subject. The words hung on his mind, though.  _ Everyone’s too frightened. _ Maybe they were.

. . . 

They’d finally finished their mission in the Hinterlands, and they were all trooping back to Skyhold when one of Leliana’s people approached Gunner at an inn. The spy seemed shifty and unsure of himself, Bull thought. He handed over a letter signed and sealed by Leliana. Maybe the kid was just nervous about Gunner. She frowned as she read the message, glancing up at the party. 

“Bummer. We’ve got a detour. Some shithead from a circle Vivienne says we need to ally ourselves with. She’s holed up in an abbey nearby, and she wants to talk to me directly.”

“Mages? Could be useful.” Dorian said, coming to peer over her shoulder at the letter. Gunner handed it to him.

“Could be a trap.” Bull growled, watching her face. She shook her head. 

“No. Not a trap. But not the kind of person I want to get caught up with either. Circle people always want something, they’re always clawing their way over others. Vivienne is hard enough to put up with. Circles are more political than Josie’s  _ Game _ ever could be, and twice as dangerous. This woman wants something from the Inquisition, and thinks I’ll be able to give it to her. I’ll go- Vivienne is already pissed at me because of how I’ve been approaching  _ the Mage problem _ , so I can’t spit in her face on this one too. And Leliana wouldn’t have asked me to do this if it wasn’t important.” She looked up at the others. “I know some of you aren’t fond of this type of thing. If you’d rather skip out, I wouldn’t blame you.” Her eyes settled on Sera, and she flashed her a sad little smile. “Magic  _ and _ politics. I ask a lot of you, don’t I?”

Sera swallowed and managed a grin. “Worth a laugh, though, innit Quizzy?”

“It is. Now let’s all get our beauty sleep. We should be able t’make it there by tomorrow afternoon.” She grinned at Dorian, bright eyed and mischievous again, “‘cept you, Darlin’, everyone knows you don’t need any extra beauty.”

Dorian scoffed, shaking his head. “Obviously not, the rest of you, however, are hopeless cases, and I enjoy a good night’s rest.”

Gunner laughed, but Dorian caught Bull’s eye despite himself. Bull wished he could still wink.

. . .

The Abbey where the Circle Mage was staying was an imposing stone building in the style of most Fereldan castles, big impressive artifices and sharp angles. The guards let them in on approach, but Bull was surprised at how out of place Gunner seemed as she walked through the halls. It wasn’t just that she was obviously uncomfortable- Sera was uncomfortable too, but she wasn’t slinking around like a kicked dog. Gunner looked wrong against the plush velvet furniture and silk tapestries the Abbey was strewn with, like if someone were to set a wolf loose in a bed chamber. Bull thought it was odd, considering that Gunner had spent most of her life being tossed about by her noble family, and then the Templars and Mages at her circle before the rebellion. She should have been used to the pomp and circumstance of it all. 

But there she was, awkwardly pulling a seat back from a table where they’d all been told to sit and eat while they waited for the Mage who’d invited them. She cast a sly smile at Dorian, who had already pulled a seat out and perched on it, throwing his ankle over his knee like he was perfectly at home. “Wanna say you’re the Inquisitor? It might work.”

“Not even a little.” Dorian said with a smile and a shake of his head. Gunner sighed and pulled on the of the chair again, tilting it and then letting it clunk back into place. 

“Reckon it’s a trap?” She asked quietly, repeating the action. Bull sighed and swatted her lightly over the back of her head, more to ruffle her hair than anything. She jerked and turned, glaring at him. “Hey!”

“You’re making yourself nervous. Just sit down. Even Sera’s waiting.” He jerked his head to where Sera was sitting, cross legged on the chair and picking at a plate of exotic fruit, spearing each piece on the end of a throwing knife and sniffing it before pushing it into her mouth. Gunner narrowed her eyes at him.

“You’re not sitting either.”

“I’m your bodyguard.” He said, hooking his ankle around the leg of the chair and pulling it out with a jerk. He set his hand on her shoulder. “I don’t need to.” He pushed her into the chair and she dropped into it with a soft  _ flump  _ of fabric and padding. “Now shut up and wait.” 

Bull didn’t think he’d ever seen the Inquisitor blush before then. But there she was, her whole face bright red as she scowled up at him like an embarrassed schoolboy. Her lips parted, and she sucked in a breath as though to grit out some snotty retort, but the large door at the end of the hall opened and a woman clad in a slinky silk gown strode through, a finely crafted and unusually short silver staff in one hand as she peered at the four of them. Bull stood back, crossing his arms again. 

The woman was beautiful, but in that way that made you feel detached. Too good to be true. Like Vivienne. Bull glanced at Gunner, who was looking up at the woman like a fennec backed against a wall looked at a hunter. 

“Hello, Inquisitor. Or should I say, the Lady Gunnora Trevelyan?” The woman asked, smiling down at Gunner. There was an awkward moment, and Gunner seemed to shift. Suddenly she bloomed into her seat, a familiar cocky smile taking over her face as she leaned back and rested her hand on her knee. 

“Inquisitor will do just fine, Madame Corrienne. You wanted to speak to me?”

Corrienne smiled, cocking one hip as she came to stand in front of her chair. Her dark eyes flicked over Gunner’s figure, lingering on her legs, and then the small flash of skin exposed at her neck. It was a familiar path for eyes to trace over her. Bulls eye had found that same trail. Corrienne was falling for the act, just like everyone did. “Yes, I did. You see, I have been following your… Career? Shall we call it? And You’ve caught my interest. I happen to have in my possession a certain amount of research and information on the Fade that  _ could _ be valuable in the Inquisition’s quest.”

“And… you’d like to trade.” Gunner said, frowning up at her. Corrienne smiled.

“So quick to get to business, Inquisitor, darling!” She rocked her hips as she shifted her weight, her other hand falling to slide over her staff’s surface. “You’d think a person like you would take their time before getting to the point.”

Gunnora’s lip twitched, and she cocked her eyebrow. “What would you like, Madame Corrienne?” 

The Circle Mage peered down at her, something brewing behind her eyes. Bull thought he knew exactly what that was. He didn’t like it. “That depends entirely on what the Inquisition… or, rather,  _ the Inquisitor _ , has to offer.” 

Another pause, and Gunner ran her hand through her hair and smirked. “I’m sure you won’t mind me having a word with my advisors first.”

Corrienne nodded. “Of course. Take all the time you need.” She flicked her wrist at a rope hanging from the wall. “Simply ring the bell when you’d like to continue… negotiations.”

The woman turned and left, her silken dress swaying behind her as she twirled her odd, short staff in one hand. One last glance over her shoulder at Gunner, and then she rounded the corner in a swirl of ebony hair and crimson silk. Three heartbeats passed, and Gunner leapt from the chair, striding across the room and peering around the corner before closing the door with a decisive snap. 

She turned, her eyes wild. “We don’t have anything to give her.” She looked at Sera, then Dorian, walking back toward them with startlingly long strides, turning on her heel and standing with her back to them all. One hand flew to her mouth, and she was pacing, her eyes darting around the room. Her voice fell to the floor, thick and heavy like the fog rolling over a cliff and dropping into a valley, hitting the floor and unfurling. “Not enough resources, no people to spare, all the money we have- I mean, that’s why we were in the Hinterlands all damn week, trying to scramble for anything we could use… Even if we had the money, look around us! She doesn’t want that… spies? But that doesn’t make sense.” She looked up at Dorian. “Do you think she wants us to ally with her?”

Dorian shrugged. “Maybe.” 

“Unless she wants access to our armies. But that’d be more apparent. She didn’t ask for a favour, she wants an offer… that means she doesn’t have a problem that needs solving now. She wants to drive the price up, don’t you think? She’s trying to get the best offer possible, see what she can pull. But what if a vague promise of a future favour isn’t enough?” Gunner turned, chewing on her thumb nail, her eyes unfocused. Again she looked at Dorian. “What should I do?”

Dorian shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. Things are done differently in Tevinter.”

Gunner let out a muffled scream of frustration and bit down hard on her hand. “We don’t have anything to negotiate with!”

Sera leaned back, a piece of dragonfruit speared on the end of her knife and her mouth full of pineapple. “Fuck her. You did that woman in Orlais when Her Gracious Majesty The Puff Sleeved had an order out.”

Gunner paused, looking at Sera. “That was a risk. I don’t know if that would play well, I couldn’t get a read on this one.”

“It’d work.” Said Bull, scowling. “But I don’t trust this one. It could still be a trap.”

Gunner paused, pointing at Bull with one crooked finger and wagging it slightly, her eyes unfocusing again. “Unless I had my bodyguard with me to make sure everything was fine.” 

Bull wrinkled his nose, but it was Dorian who spoke first. “Surely you don’t think that’d play well with her?”

Gunner shrugged. “Circle Mages are used to being watched. The higher ups even enjoy it some of the time.” She smirked. “That could work, if she bites. But that’s a big if.” She looked back up at Bull. “What do you think? Do you think it’s enough? Or should we bail?”

Bull paused. The need for information was great, and Leiliana was not the type to approve of a fool’s errand. But something about the idea of the Inquisitor putting herself in the power of this particular Mage… it didn’t sit well with him. 

“If I’m there, nothing can really go wrong for you. If she says no, we’re no worse off than when we started. I say… Do it.” His stomach twisted as Gunnora smiled.

“Glad you’ve got my back, Bull.” She said, and then she looked to Dorian and Sera. “Best if you to go scarce for a while. If stuff gets heated… well. Follow the sounds of fighting.” 

Dorian nodded and left the room quickly, but Sera smirked. “If you wanted to forgo this Bull, I could play guard.” Bull paused, then shook his head. 

“I think I cut a more… Intimidating figure. Also, would you really pass up the opportunity to ask the staff some questions for your friends?”

“Good point, that.” Sera said, pointing at him. She backed toward the door, looking back at Gunner with a crooked grin. “But you’ll have to tell me the story after, yeah?”

Gunner laughed, winking at the rogue. “I could give you a demonstration too, if you want to really relive it with me.”

Sera let out a low whistle and turned, slinking out of the room. Gunner looked up at Bull, face losing some of its glow. 

“You do have my back, right? I don’t like these Circle types.” 

Bull frowned again. “‘Course I got your back, It’s my job.” There was a heavy pause, and the words fell from him without him meaning to say them. “But… You don’t have to do this.”

Gunner grit her teeth, eyes dagger sharp. “I would do anything for the Inquisition.” Her eyes lightened, and her veneer of bravado resurfaced. “Given how many times I’ve put my life on the line? Sleeping with a beautiful woman isn’t exactly going to break my mental bank.”

Bull shrugged, and the Inquisitor walked over to the bell, pulling the silk chord with one decisive jerk. Gunner walked back to the table, perching herself up on it, picking up an apple and turning it over in her hand. She glanced at Bull again as he stepped back, leaning against a wall. The Sorceress strolled back into the room, hair gleaming in the candlelight as she took in the missing party members and the Inquisitor, perched on the table. She smiled. 

“And what have we decided?”

Gunner tossed the apple up in the air and caught it. “I thought I could offer you the Inquisition’s most valuable resource. All yours- Just for one night.” She tilted her head and grinned cheekily. “Yours truly, for anything you’d like.”

Corrienne paused, her eyes sparkling. “And why is that worth my time?”

Gunner slid off the table, setting the apple down on the table and striding over to her. She was shorter than the circle Mage, only by a few inches, but she was smiling like a predatory animal. “Everyone wants to make their mark…” she tilted her head, one hand coming up and brushing Corrienne’s ebony hair back from her face. “And I do mean  _ anything _ . I’m entirely at your mercy… unless you’d like to be at mine.”

Bull knew before the Circle Mage responded that it had worked. Corrienne played coy, but she didn’t put her heart into it. It was too obvious to them all that she wanted Gunner, and that she wanted her bad. 

“And your guard?” Corrienne asked, glancing over at him as her hands fell to Gunner’s hip. Gunner cast him a glance.

“He stays.” Gunner said, looking back to her and sliding her hand over the woman’s waist. “You can handle the merchandise all you like, but you can’t break it.”

Corrienne laughed, the hand on the Inquisitor’s hip seeming to tighten. “Like a valuable gem, the Inquisition’s crown jewel.”

Gunner smiled, tilting her head and dropping her gaze to Corrienne’s lips. “Quite. But if you remain unmoved…” she made as if to step back, but the Sorceress’ pulled her back, flush against her. 

“Ah, Inquisitor, I do believe you’ve made me an offer I simply can’t refuse. I’ll take my time now, if you’d be amenable.”

“That’d be preferred.” Gunner said. “Where would you like to go?”

“My chambers. I’ll have someone lead you to them while I go…slip into something more comfortable.” The Circle Mage traced her finger over Gunner’s jaw and winked, before turning again and sweeping out of the room like she had before. Gunner turned too, avoiding eye contact with Bull before flopping into the nearest chair and ruffling her short hair. 

“Damn, I can’t believe that worked.” She sighed, resting her face in her hands. Bull shifted his weight and smirked despite himself.

“Can’t you?”

Gunner looked up at him, her eyes dulled slightly, like a razor that had rusted. “No, I can’t. I was bullshitting.” Her eyes dropped, and the next words were hissed out under her breath, one of her fingers running across the deep scars on her lower lip. “Who on earth woulda taken that offer?”

Bull rolled his eye and strode forward, grabbing her by the back of her shirt and pulling her to her feet. “Me.” He growled, grabbing her face in one hand and tilting it up toward his, forcing her to look at him. “Whatever the hell has gotten into you, snap out of it. If you can’t stomach this, then we walk out now. It’s not. A. Problem.”

Gunner went to pull away, but Bull stepped closer, looming over her. She glared up at him, eyes sharpening to their usual edge and her lip curling. “I’m not backing out.” She jerked, but he grabbed the front of her cuirass with his other hand, his knuckles against her collarbone. 

“I won’t let you do this if you aren’t comfortable with it, dammit.”

“Comfortable?” She sneered, glaring up at him. “You think a one night stand in exchange for valuable information is enough to shake me?”

Bull didn't move. The fire in her flickered. 

“It’s not the sex. It’s… it’s the Circle.” She grabbed his wrists and wrenched them from her. Red spots marked her jaw where his fingers had pressed. Why hadn’t he noticed how easily she marked before? She sneered. Unnatural. Not her usual self. The façade was cracked, or maybe he just saw the seams in it now that he knew it was there. “We don’t have time, it’s fine. I know it’ll be fine. I’ve got you. And the others are still in the tower. It’s fine.”

Bull didn’t remind her they weren't in a tower. “Later. We talk about this later, Boss.”

“Only if you’re paying for the booze.” She laughed. The door opened yet again, and the servant Corrienne had sent entered. 

“Lady Inquisitor.” He glanced up at Bull, an eyebrow twitching. “And guest. Please, follow me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> Gunner: Naive, The Kooks
> 
> Bull: The Hunter, Adam Jensen
> 
> Sera: Reckless Tongue, Airways
> 
> Dorian: Good Lesson, Bastille 
> 
> Corrienne: You Go Down Smooth, Lake Street Drive


	5. Prices Paid For Entertainment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gunnora gets ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hah! i promise smut and filth next chapter. I specifically wanted to have the scene from Bull's perspective, but I refuse to break my 'one for them, one for him' chapter pattern on principal.

Gunnora frowned when the servant opened the door to the master bedroom. It was lavish, and extravagant. She’d seen rooms like this before. The servant- a dainty elf with freckles- indicated a freestanding table, laden with cloth and things the Inquisitor couldn’t quite make out.

“Madame Corrienne would like you to dress yourself in preparation. Good evening.” He flicked his eyes over her and then to Bull, but flounced out without another word. 

Gunnora began shedding her armour. A chair, plush and comprised of embroidered silk, stood in the corner. She tossed her pieces one by one onto it. Vambraces first, then her greaves. Her spaulders were tossed on top, carelessly. Cuirass, stiff and comforting, went next.

Bulls voice called her out of herself as she pulled at her tunic.

“She’s a fool for not wanting to watch you take your armour off.”

She snorted, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as her fingers mechanically worked at the fastenings of her faulds. “World's slowest striptease. Guess it’s an acquired taste.”

Bull crossed the room, opening a cabinet door and peering into it. “I’ve always enjoyed it.”

“You enjoy a lot of things.” Gunnora said, casting the faulds onto the couch and pulling her tunic off. Bull frowned at her.

“I can’t tell if you’re being a little shit or if you genuinely don’t know how much people like you.”

“Of course people like me.” She sighed, unlacing her trousers and tossing them into the pile. “I read them and tell them what they want to hear. I show them what they want to see. You’re a spy. You know how it goes.” Her bindings she wound as she undid, a practiced motion. 

“You’re not a spy.”

“You didn't see it until I told you.” Gunnora smiled at him, a cold, hollow feeling in her chest. “I’ve been at this every bit as long as you have. I’m just an intuitive liar, not a trained one.”

Bull was looking at her, sizing her up the way he did whenever he got new information. Gunnora peeled her boxers off and turned back to the table, rooting through the fabric. 

“I do have to say.” She plucked up a strap and examined the item in a detached way. “You have a way of getting me talking.”

“It’s what I do.” Bull acknowledged, watching her pull on the silk slip she’d been left to wear. Gunnora grinned at him.

“Yeah, well. Everything you do, you do well. You should consider picking up a hobby to be bad at, it’ll make you seem a little less...” She pulled on the long black robe, fastening it around her with the knotted belt and frowning. “They always have such odd taste.”

“You look like a Noble.” Bull said, his eye raking over her. She looked down at herself, the way the slip exposed almost all of her thighs, the robe just a little too long, crumpling on the ground at the hem.

“Isn’t it weird?” She said, smiling. “Like some pampered Countess waiting for someone to come entertain her.” 

Bull didn’t reply. He just looked at her, his gaze a dull pressure she felt in her bones. Like binding. It was comforting. 

She turned, hooking the robe aside so she could sit on a seat without it tugging, casting the fabric over the arm of the chair with a lazy flick. There was a jug of water on the table, and glasses set up, two, standing perfectly arranged on a little silver tray. The sudden impulse to smash them, to break something in this stupid room, became overwhelming.

“Talk to me,  _ The _ Iron Bull.” She said, closing her eyes. “My mind is buzzing.”

“You’re asking me to  _ entertain _ you?” He asked, his voice curling with laughter at the edges. She cracked one eye and smiled.

“You sound like you don’t hate the idea.” She shook her head. “That’s not what I meant, though. I just need to… to not think.”

“Should I call you Countess?” Bull asked, smirking. Gunnora rolled her eyes.

“Oh, how your mind works.” She threw her ankle over her knee, pressing the slip down between her legs as though she had some modesty to protect. “Entertaining spoiled nobility isn’t exactly a pastime I ever enjoyed. You seem eager, though.”

“If the goal is just to get you to stop thinking, I don’t think spoiled nobility are much of an obstacle for me.”

Gunnora laughed, shaking her head. “Depends if I’m playing a part or not.”

Bull’s lips parted, and his hands shifted in front of him, but footsteps sounded in the hallway outside, and they both fell silent. Gunnora slid her calf over her thigh, crossing her legs, and Bull stepped back, unsheathing his Axe and setting the pommel firmly between his feet, his hands resting on the head as he looked to the door.

The footsteps stopped, and the handle of the door creaked. Gunnora rested her cheek on her hand. The door opened, and Madame Corrienne strode through, in a gown composed completely of transparent red lace, and nothing else. She had a long, lean body, almost elven in the way it looked. Gunnora looked up at her face, taking in the high bridge of her nose and the way she spoke.

Corrienne could have had an elven parent.  _ That _ was interesting. Halfway between comforted and unnerved, Gunnora raised her eyebrows.

“You aren’t frightened to make an entrance, are you?”

“I like to own a room. Surely you understand the advantage it gives.” She smiled, striding over to the Inquisitor and leaning over the chair, her hands falling to the arms, bracketing her in. Gunnora looked up at her face, taking in her eyes. Black, so black she couldn’t tell where her pupils began and ended, like a place where snakes hide. “Would you prefer to do this here, or would you like to move to the bed. It makes no difference to me either way, but you may have guessed by now that  _ I _ prefer to be the one… in control.”

“Then I suppose the choice is yours, Madame.” Gunnora said, brushing the Circle Mage’s hair back from her eyes.

Corrienne smirked and slipped her hand into the belt knotted at Gunnora’s waist, pulling her to her feet and stepping back toward the bed, only stopping when her back hit the low footboard. She tangled her hand in the short hair at the Inquisitor’s crown and then tilted her head back, pulling it painfully. “Kneel.”

Slowly, she obeyed, sinking to her knees in front of the Circle Mage. Corrienne smirked, down at her, her dark eyes glinting. 

“Now, that’s  _ better _ . Do tap on my leg three times if you can’t take it, won’t you? I’d hate to get in trouble with your keeper.”

“Yes.” Gunnora said, her voice a little rougher than she’d expected.

“Good. Now. Let’s get  _ started _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> Bull: Horns, Bryce Fox
> 
> Gunner: Wicked Games, The Hot Damns
> 
> Corrienne: Pomegranate Seeds, Julian Moon


	6. Watching and Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gunner does what needs to be done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've given up on editing this one

Watching Gunner kneel like that made Bull’s lungs freeze solid. Her voice, low and raw, felt heavy in the air. Corrienne undid the silk ribbon at her waist, parting her robe before throwing one leg over Gunner’s shoulder, pulling her in. 

“Lick it.” She said, her tone imperious. Gunner leaned forward, and Bull could see her back arch as she trailed kisses down from the Sorceress’ navel, lower, lower, tilting her head so she could part her lips with her tongue. Corrienne carded her fingers through Gunner’s hair, her knuckles paling as her grip tightened. Calloused hands that Bull knew the feel of slid up the woman’s thighs, holding her fast, fingertips digging in slightly as the Inquisitor hummed. A little gasp, and Corrienne’s eyes fluttered. Hips rocked forward, her grip tightened even more in the Inquisitor’s hair. “Maker…” Her chest was rising and falling quicker now, her breath coming heavy as Gunner worked her up. 

Bull swallowed, watching Gunner’s jaw move as she drew her tongue along Corrienne’s slit, her fingers sliding further up her thighs. He watched her lean forward, press harder, deeper, her nails digging in…

This was a bad idea. His heart was pounding in his chest, he felt hot, his breath catching in his chest almost as much as the Circle Mage who had his boss’s head buried between her thighs. He could feel himself getting hard as he watched Gunner moan, diligent and obedient as Corrienne used her mouth.

“You realise what this makes you, don’t you Inquisitor?” She panted, rolling her hips again, grinding down onto Gunner’s face. Gunner’s eyes fluttered, and she hummed, but didn’t pull away to respond. Bull wasn’t sure she could, given the death grip Corrienne had on her. “Trading sex. I know it’s not the first time you’ve done it. Word in Orlais was you were a decent lay… ah-” She threw her head back, gasping as Gunner growled, her hands coming up to grip Corrienne’s ass. “Andra-aste, where’d you learn that?” 

Instead of a response, Gunner slipped one of her hands beneath her mouth, pressing her fingers inside her. Corrienne moaned, the leg draped over the Inquisitor’s shoulder tensing as she did, her chest rising. 

“It all just makes you a whore.” She said, looking back down at Gunner through hooded eyes. “An expensive whore is still a whore, you know.” 

Gunner glared back up at her, and Bull saw her wrist twist, her jaw jerk, and Corrienne gasped, her eyes squeezing shut. Bull closed his eye for a moment, trying to reel in the unnamed feeling in his chest, bitter and cold. The Sorceress kept talking, her voice getting higher, her breaths heavy.

“Seems like you do this a lot. I could put people to work, you know…” She let out another gasp. “Send agents from the Circle over, Vivienne has influence, but darling, I have  _ reach _ .” She swore, and Bull looked up to see that Gunner had yanked her other leg over her shoulder so that her arms on the foot of the bed were straining and shaking as she tried to stay upright. “We could w-work something out, you could have all the loyalists in Orlais and Fereldan at your beck and call if… ha-” She threw her head back, her arms thudding to her elbows on the bed, her back arching as Gunner’s head stilled, her hand speeding up. “Maker- I- Oh…” She crossed her ankles at Gunner’s back, one hand flying back to pull the Inquisitor’s hair as she rolled her hips, they stuttered, and something like a shout filled the room. 

The sorceress slumped down, seeming almost dizzy in the aftermath of her orgasm. Gunner grabbed her hips, pushing her further up onto the bed before climbing on after her, bracketing her against the coverlet. The black silk of her robe fell over her, just letting Bull see the shape of her as she seemed to shift, and he could imagine that she was sliding her thigh between Corrienne’s legs, pressing it up against her still sensitive sex. 

“And what would I have to do for that particular advantage, Madame Corrienne?” She asked, her voice low and rough, like stones shifting underfoot. 

Corrienne was still panting, trying to catch her breath. “This.” She hissed, pulling Gunner down into a kiss, long and sloppy. Gunner eventually pulled back, tilting her head. Bull could see her move as she ground against the woman beneath her. 

“Kiss you? Or fuck you?”

“Both. Indefinitely.”

“You want me to become your mistress?” The Inquisitor asked. Her voice was startlingly cold. Corienne let out a whine, and Bull noticed Gunner’s hand was somewhere between the two of them. “You don’t know me.”

“I know-  _ shit _ \- I know you by reputation. Ah- I’ve had a close relationship with the head enchanter at your Circle since before you arrived-” She gasped, and Bull saw her arch, heard her voice twist with desperation. “And… Oh… And I know you do best when you have someone on the end of your leash- fuck!”

Hands gripped Gunner’s waist hard, knuckles white and nails digging in through the dark silk. The Inquisitor shifted back, sitting and looking over her partner. “I’ll consider your offer. Like you said. My price is high.” She slid up, and Bull couldn’t tell if she whispered something or merely pressed a kiss to the Enchanter’s cheek, before sliding off the bed and wiping her hands on the coverlet. 

The circle mage propped herself up, ebony curls spilling over her chest as she turned to look at Gunner, astonished. 

“Really? You’re already leaving?” 

The Inquisitor turned her head toward the woman, eyes flicking over her. “Would you like me to make you cum again? You’ll be sore.”

Corrienne smiled, shaking her head. “Business, business.” She rolled over, drawing her hair to one side and interlacing her fingers beneath her chin. “I’ll have all the research sent to Skyhold, care of Lady Montilyet. It includes an original text from Grand Enchanter Leone. Consider my offer carefully as you look over it.” She heaved a sigh as Gunner pulled the robe off, pulling her boxers on under her slip before picking up her binding bandages. 

“That’s a valuable acquisition.” She said, playing with the free edge of the bandage before looking up at Bull. “I’ll consider it. But we have to go.” She pulled the slip off with her back to the mage, quickly wrapping herself, her muscles flexing as she pulled the bandages tight. “The pleasure of meeting with you was a detour along a rather pressing journey, I’m afraid.” She tucked the bandage end in and began pulling her clothing and armour on. 

“The pleasure really was all mine.” The mage on the bed laughed, watching Gunner fasten her faulds with the expression of someone who was caught, and badly. Gunner laughed.

“Not all, Madame. Not all,” She looked up at Bull, her eyes sharp. “ _ The _ Iron Bull. Mind giving me a hand?” She slid her Cuirass over her head, turning so her back was to him as she slid on her greaves.

“‘Course, Boss.” He said, something inside him stirring as he leaned his axe against the couch, smelling the sex on Gunner as he fastened her Cuirass. He looked up at Corrienne as he did it, and part of him realised that without ever having to unfasten them himself, he knew her armour by touch. Corrienne’s smirk faltered slightly as he leant down, catching up a spaulder and beginning to buckle it as Gunner laced up her thick leather vambraces. 

Gunner smoothed her hair back and shouldered her staff, Bull fastening his axe behind him. She strode over to the woman on the bed, and Bull wondered if there was something wrong with his chest as she pressed a quick kiss to her temple. 

“Thank you for the information.”

“Thank you for paying so handsomely for it.” The lady bit back, smiling up at her and threading her finger through the loop of Gunner’s staff harness. “I expect to see you again.”

“Perhaps.” Gunner said, brushing her hand against Corrienne’s and then standing, shooting Bull an unreadable look before turning toward the door. “Farewell, Maker go to the best of the vein and all that.” She waved her hand, and opened the door, walking through it. 

“Goodbye for now. And you too, Keeper.” The mage said. Bull turned and looked at her, a heartbeat passing before he followed the Inquisitor from the room. 

They rounded a corner to a staircase, and within three steps Gunner whirled around, her eyes aflame and her breath coming quickly. “Dammit, what the hell was that? Her mistress? Was she joking?”

Bull clenched his jaw. “Dunno why you didn’t just turn her down flat. Did you think that she wouldn’t hold her end of the deal if you said no?”

Gunner gaped at him. “Do you realise what she just offered me? If she could do that, If she could complete Vivienne’s hold on the circles for us… That’s huge, Bull!” She leaned against the wall with a thud and closed her eyes. “Imagine if I could be a major player in the reformation of the Circles. If I could put… systems in place to protect the Mages kept in them. Dorian says the Circles in Tevinter are like… like academies, prestigious and safe. Not that Tevinter sets a standard I want to emulate… but I would be setting a standard that  _ everyone _ could stand by.” She looked up at him, her brows furrowed. “Wouldn’t I be a fool to say no?”

“Then why didn’t you say yes?” Bull asked. His throat ached. He wondered if he was coming down with something. 

Gunner paused. “Because I don’t like her.” She crossed her arms. “She… She sends ice down my spine. She’s practically Vivienne’s shadow self. I don’t know how much she’d ask of me. I don’t want to be her pet. And…” She rubbed her neck. “I didn’t like some of the shit she said.”

“When she called you a whore?”

Gunner laughed. “Nah, that’s just dirty talk. It was… It was the leash.” she paused for a moment. “I have to drink on it.” She looked back up at him, her crooked smile back on her face. “Let’s get back to Skyhold. I bet you’re missing the chargers, and I’m missing my piles of paperwork and Leliana’s effervescent personality.” 

Bull shrugged, the thing in his chest cooling off as he watched the light return to Gunner, bit by bit.

It took a few minutes of searching to find Sera, in the kitchen playing cards with the cook, shots of sherry on the table. Gunner strolled up and snatched two, downing them one after the other and pulling a card from Sera’s hand, setting it on the table and grinning. 

It took even longer to locate Dorian, who they found in the library speaking intently with a young mage there. Gunner walked up behind him, leaning against the shelf and frowning as she caught the drift of the conversation.

Sera caught Bull’s eye. He shook his head. Everything they were saying sounded like gibberish to him. 

“Not that we couldn’t stay here and talk theory all day,” Gunner cut in, her hand waving through the air as she spoke, as though she could make her words more decisive with movement, “But we really have to go. Dorian, love, won’t you come along?”

“Of course.” Dorian said, thanking the young mage and following the Inquisitor as she led the whole party out of the Abbey. Bull felt uncomfortable, pent up, a little like someone had pulled a trebuchet back too far. As they all approached their horses, preparing to ride back, he pulled up beside the Inquisitor and cleared his throat.

She looked up at him with a questioning expression, and he spoke as low as he could.

“Do you mind if when we get back to Skyhold we talk about what happened before you struck the deal?”

Gunner frowned, but shrugged. “I’ll find you in the tavern after I finish up my paperwork upon return. You owe me a drink anyway.”

Bull nodded. He had wanted to speak to her privately, but something in him said that it would be better not to push Gunner at that moment. She was delicate, far more delicate than anyone else in the Inquisition thought… including herself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> Bull: Beltloops, The Films
> 
> Corrienne: My Beloved, mansionz
> 
> Gunner: CRASH DIVE, LUNA AURA


	7. Desire and Drinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a whole lot of talking... Smut next chapter though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, Cullen is so easy. I don’t think I’ve ever played a character who didn’t have his relationship pop up as an option. He just wants to be in love with the Inquisitor so bad. Poor bloke.

Gunnora walked along the ramparts, looking down over the edge of the wall at the mountain range beyond the fortification. A crow, or perhaps a raven, flew far overhead. It swooped low, cawing once, then twice, before finally flying out of earshot. 

She was looking after the bird when the telltale clatter of metal armour sounded over her shoulder. “Hail, Commander.” She said dreamily.

“Hello, Inquisitor. Not often I see you up here.” Cullen responded, coming to stand beside her. She smiled.

“Too much fresh air. You know I prefer rolling in the mud.” She tilted her head, taking a breath before turning her back to the wall, leaning against it and peering into Cullen’s face. He was looking at her in that odd, searching way he was prone to. 

“Are you alright?” The stone behind her was rough, uneven, scarred, maybe from some battle long ago. Gunnora pondered that as she ran her palms flat against it. Long ago battles. Soldiers that had lived and died there, where she now stood, pondering where to send the soldiers that she now had at her disposal. 

“I’m always alright, aren’t I?”

Cullen pursed his lips, his eyes flicking over her face, and then he looked away. The armor on his elbows scraped against the stone as he looked out over the range, interlacing his fingers over the edge. The sound of leather on leather made Gunnora’s memory shoot back somewhere she always tried to keep pushed down. 

“I knew a Templar once.”

“You were in a circle. I would assume you knew many.”

“I meant I knew one like you.” Gunnora leaned harder against the wall, crossing one leg over the other. “All prim, quick on the uptake, good at barking orders.” She shot him a sly smirk, the one that always made him start stuttering. “ _ Real _ good at barking orders. I imagine you’d give orders just like she did.”

Cullen’s face flushed pink. She laughed under her breath, shaking her head. 

“You’re too quick, y’know.” She switched her feet around, leaning just a bit closer. Gently, with the tip of her finger, she brushed a loose lock of hair back from his forehead. He jerked with surprise, but didn’t move away. 

“What happened? With the Templar at your circle?”

“She got promoted. Probably a red horror now. She saved my ass once. You’d probably have… made a different choice.” She smiled sadly and let her hand fall back to her side.

He sucked in a breath and stood back. “You think so?”

“Don’t think that I mean it as an insult.” She said, her voice dropping low. “I wouldn’t have wanted you as a Commander if you were like her. She had a soft spot for troublesome Mage girls. You don’t have any soft spots under that armour, do you, Commander?”

His lip flicked up at the corner, a smirk like someone getting away with something he shouldn’t. The effect was a little ruined by the way his cheeks were still tinged, but Gunnora thought the overall result was charming. “I think it’s understandable that anyone might have something of a… partiality to those they guarded.”

“Was she guarding me?” It was her turn to smirk now. “Or was she guarding the world  _ from _ me?”

“As a Templar, I’d say the former.” He said, straightening up, “But as someone who knows you… perhaps better than some, I could venture to say she was doing both.”

Gunnora laughed, shaking her head and looking away. “And what are you doing?” She asked, fixing her eyes on his boots and spreading her fingers out along the rough stone behind her. 

With a voice that almost trembled, he replied. “What am I doing?” 

She tilted her head. “Yeah. What are you doing?” fingers curled into fists behind her back as she swallowed. “Are you keeping the world safe from me?”

Cullen didn’t reply. The silence stretched between them, and Gunnora smiled. Rocking her shoulders slightly, she looked up at him; eyelids low as she finally took in his face, nervously trying to read his expression. 

“I’m glad you’re my Commander.” She said, her voice quiet. Breathing seemed to grow difficult for him. He looked like a man whose thoughts had all flown. “I wouldn’t have anyone else leading my armies if I had my pick.” She turned to leave. He caught her arm.

“W-wait…” Blue eyes burned like flashfire when Gunnora looked up into them, and she cocked her eyebrow.

“Commander?”

Cullen stepped forward, his hand hovering over her shoulder. “Listen, Gunn- Inquisitor, I… I know that things are tense, and that we don’t always see eye to eye, but… I… I don’t want you to think that I’m… That I see you as a…”

“A walking threat to society?” Gunnora asked, smiling at him. That only seemed to make it worse. He made a wordless sound, almost like a grunt. 

“Ah… I… Yes, well, no. I don’t see you as a walking threat. In fact, I-”

A door burst open behind Gunnora, and a guard rushed in, eyes wide and holding a scroll. “Commander Cullen I- oh! Inquisitor! Your worship!” The scout stopped dead, and did a funny little shuffle while they tried to decide whether to bow or salute. Gunnora nodded to them, and Cullen stepped back, looking as guilty as a sinner during the Chant of Light. 

“Oh.” The scout blushed, looking away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t kno… I didn’t mean to interrupt…”

“You aren’t interrupting anything that can’t be done later. I’ll leave you to report. I have to go consult Iron Bull about our last mission.” She looked back at Cullen, who had the expression of a kicked puppy and his hand hanging awkwardly in the air in front of him. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Yes.” He said, snapping back to his usual crisp self. “Yes, of course.”

Gunnora nodded and scooted past the still flustered scout, scuttling through the doorway and down the nearest flight of stairs. She rolled her shoulder, winking at a group of soldiers training next to the tavern. There was a crash as one of them bumped into another, and she laughed as she slipped through the tavern door. 

“Hey! Krem!” She called, grinning broadly as he turned and looked up from his card game.

“Hey, Gunner.” He said, shooting her a smile as he placed a card on the table. The woman, an elven guard, groaned and tossed her cards on the table, fishing in her pocket and slapping a few coppers on the table.

“Damn it, you bastard, you’ll rob me blind.” She grunted, getting up. She looked at Gunnora, clearly not recognising her. 

“See if you can beat him. I swear, he’s got cards in his armour.”

Krem laughed as the woman stomped off, looking back at the Inquisitor and smirking. “I can’t tempt you to a game, can I?”

“Tempt me? Krem! I’m just not that kinda person...” She dropped into the seat across from him as he scraped up his winnings and dropped them into his coin pouch. It clinked heavily as he tucked it back into his belt. “You can buy me a drink though, if you insist.”

Krem laughed and shook his head. “Nice try, but I know you have deeper pockets than I do.”

Gunnora sighed dramatically and swung her legs to the side of the chair, handing him the cards the guard had thrown down. “Ale?”

“Make it a glass of whiskey, since you’re buying.”

“Cheek.” She growled, getting up and trying not to smile. “Where’s The Iron Bull? We’re supposed to gossip about all the boys we like and braid each other’s hair.”

Krem snorted. There was a pleasant riffle as he bridged the cards in his hands. “He stepped out for a bit of air. Should be back any time now.”

“Let’s get blasted before he gets back and leave him in the dust.” She said, pointing at him. He let out a bark of laughter, shaking his head. 

“You’re onto something.” He called as she walked to the bar, thudding her elbows on the counter and ordering a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. The barmaid put them on the counter one by one, and Gunnora winked at her before taking them and walking back to Krem’s table.

The glasses clinked heavily as she set them down, uncorking the bottle with her teeth and spitting the cork into the fireplace across the room. She poured them each a generous measure before taking her seat again and picking up her glass.

“To the Chargers, the best expense I have to sign off on every week.” 

Krem smiled, and knocked his glass to hers. “To you, the best employer I’ve ever gotten drunk with.”

Gunnora threw back a mouthful. It burned her throat, vicious and strong. She grinned. “Don’t let The Iron Bull hear you say that, or I may have to start signing your contracts separately.” She poured more into her glass, holding the bottle out with an eyebrow raised. His glass hit the table empty, and she filled it. 

“You’d keep me on if the Chief fired me? Even if he didn’t approve?”

“‘ _ The Chief _ ’ would never fire you.”

“But if he did.”

Both glasses hit the table empty. She tilted her head, pouring the amber liquid slowly into the glasses, watching it swirl and settle. “I might. Depends on what happened. Depends on what you’d do for me. Hypotheticals aren’t my forte, Krem. I need to be in a situation to know how I’d act.”

The Charger tilted his head, looking over her slowly. She leaned forward, holding her glass in front of her face and setting both of her elbows on the table. They looked at one another for a long time. Krem was the one who broke the stand off. 

“Are you trying to pass?”

Gunnora blinked. 

“Cause you dress like I used to when I was still messing about with the idea of trying to pass. Seeing if I could get away with it. Y’know.”

“Cause I bind?”

“It’s not just the binding. You know that, and I know that. Lots of troopers bind. You do more than that.”

She paused again, and then she smiled. “I’m just most comfortable this way. I’m not a… I’m not a man. But I’m also not really anything else. Do you think… well. It’s silly. I’m just me, and you’re just you, and that… is just how things are.” 

Krem smiled back, raising his glass. “Cheers to that.”

“Hell yeah.” She said, and they both threw their drinks back. The glasses hit the table at once, and Gunnora hissed before looking back up at him. He was smirking, still looking unphased. 

“Lightweight.”

“Cheek.” She growled, pouring him a considerable measure, and herself a little splash. He snickered, and she pressed the glass to her jaw. “Do you like it here?” 

The silhouette of his tongue ran across his cheek, like he was running his tongue over his teeth. He set his glass down. His armour clinked as he crossed his arms. “Better than most places. If I said no, though, would you give me better quarters?”

“Toss you out, more like.” Gunnora snapped, kicking his shin and gripping the table. He grinned, snatching his glass back up as it rattled. She laughed and rocked back. “I was just wondering. I… I spend so much time fussing about with the folk up top. Sometimes I feel like I’m not doin’ enough for all you lot on the ground level.”

Krem nodded. “The Chief knows that. I mean, he knows you think that. We’re okay. Been in tougher spots in rougher places. But the fact you think that, that you rub elbows with us here, that you’re not just up in your tower with your advisors spitting out orders, that you’re always on the front lines… that means a lot to the people ‘round here.” There was a pause. “Means a lot to the Chief too.”

There was a noise, a thud, and a shout outside. Gunnora leapt to her feet. She kicked the door wide, drawing a knife from her belt and looking around. 

Iron Bull was there in the training ground with a shield in his hand, standing over a soldier flat on his back and gasping like a fish out of water. “ _ That’s _ what I meant when I said that bad form will kill you.” He snapped, reaching down and offering a massive hand to the soldier. He took it, but staggered as he stood. Gunnora got there just in time to catch him by the arm. With a little reluctance she sheathed her knife.

“And you’re beating the shit out of my soldiers for what, exactly?” She asked sharply. With an irritable flick of her wrist she handed the man off to his comrades and narrowed her eyes up at the Qunari. He crossed his arms.

“They aren’t training hard enough. Their form is terrible.”

“And you think braining them is going to help?” She stepped forward. It was startling, really, how much bigger he was than her. She was just about the perfect height to headbutt his eighth and ninth ribs. “I thought we were going to talk, anyway. I was looking for you, and I find you out here beating up the ranks.”

Bull scowled. It was funny, really. He never seemed pissed at anyone except for her.  _ When had she perfected the art of getting under people’s skin? _ “Fine. But you reek like whiskey. We aren’t going to the tavern.”

“I’m not drunk!” She barked. She tried to wheel in how indignant she sounded. “And I’m perfectly capable of self-regulating,  _ The  _ Iron Bull.”

“I don’t care. If we’re going to have a serious conversation, you aren’t going to be tipsy for it.”

“Fine. Follow me.” She spun on her heel and stormed in the nearest door. She led Bull along a short corridor. She made a sharp turn, pulling hard on a handle and stepping out of the way as the heavy wooden door slammed to the ground. She stepped onto it, ignoring the way it wobbled. “Welcome to my secret office, I guess.” She sighed, waving him into an abandoned room. He shot her an odd look and ducked through the doorway. She walked off the door and energised it, causing it to swing up and slam back into its place. Bull looked around. 

“What the hell?”

The room had a few drawers, turned on their sides to make shelves of curiosities and books she’d collected. There was a box of scrolls pushed up against one wall, and a scorched table with a pair of stools along one edge, one teetering on three legs where there clearly had once been four, and the other with a considerable chunk missing from its seat. Gunner crossed her arms.

“I like it.”

“Do you hide in here?”

“I like being alone sometimes. No one knows where I am when I’m in here. People barge into my chamber all the time, even in the middle of the night, wanting to talk and get my advice, wanting to tell me about some stupid report from the Graves or the Basin… Sometimes I just need twenty minutes where no one knows where I am, and I can read, or think a problem out, or just lay face down on the floor and groan into the slate.” She snorted, scuffing her boot along the worn rug. 

“No one knows about this?” Bull asked. He nudged one of her improvised shelves and watched it wobble dangerously. 

“No. No one knows about this but me. Well… and now you.” A little toy soldier rocked back and forth. It toppled over, but the shelf stilled. She strode over, picked it up, and righted it, turning it to face Bull and smiling a little. “But we needed to talk, and no one will interrupt us if you and I are here.”

There was no reply. For a while, they were both quiet. Eventually, Bull heaved a sigh. He took up one of the stools, the steady one, and walked it around to the far side of the table. He sat down on it. “Sit.” He said, pointing at the remaining stool. Gunnora perched on it, careful to keep her weight on the side that had more legs, and leaned over the table, staring Bull down. 

“Questions?”

“One for one.”

Gunnora nodded. “Who starts?”

“You’ve just asked two.” Bull said, face straight. “So you, obviously.”

“Cheat. Okay. Go.”

“What happened at the Circle that made that witch so interested in you?” Bull sat back, his arms crossed. “I’ve been thinking about it. She didn’t want anything to do with the Inquisition. It all went too smooth. That was about you.”

She paused. This was a game she couldn’t win. She supposed it would be better to just come clean. “I developed something of a reputation within the Circle as someone who… would make deals. Trades. I was good at guessing what people wanted, and knowing whether or not I could give it to them. Like I said. I’m not trained to lie. I’m just good at it.” She paused. “Why do I irritate you so much?”

“Because you’re a pain in the ass.” He said. “Never met anyone as stubborn and pushy as you. And you’re erratic. Makes you hard to plan around.”

“Sera’s erratic too.”

“Yes, but Sera is consistently erratic. You’re more than that. I can guess a few of the things Sera will do when she walks into a room. Shoot someone, steal food, shout. You? You’re a loose cannon. There’s no accounting for you.” The sunlight was filtering through the brush outside the window, framing him from behind, casting every turn and tilt of his head into sharp relief. “Why didn’t that Templar turn you in when you tried to run away?”

“She had been a little sweet on me for a long time. When she found me, I asked her to snap my arm back in its socket and kiss me so I was distracted. She was so floored by me asking to kiss her, by me flirting as she carried me in, by me letting her into my bed, she forgot that it all happened cause I was making a run for it. I figured out pretty quick that I could play her for things I wanted, and things other people wanted too, for that measure.” She sighed heavily, rubbing her forehead and looking down at the scratches in the surface of the table. “Eventually I caught feelings, though. I dug up dirt on her commander and blackmailed him to further her career. They used to joke I was her pet. That I needed someone close to keep me under control. She just liked being around me, even as she kept doing the big silent soldier thing… But that just made it seem more like I was being brought to heel.” Gunners smirked sadly. “For all I know, I’ve already killed her. She got transferred just before the rebellion kicked off. The mages almost killed me. They practically considered me a Templar toward the end.” She rubbed her chin. “Qunari. Do you guys not have romantic feelings? Or… Or is it just against the rules?”

Bull shook his head. “We feel all the emotions everyone else does. We just don’t mix them with sex.”

It was her turn to shake her head. “Romance isn’t the same as just friendship plus sex.”

“What is it then?”

“That’s your question?”

“Then that’s yours.”

“Shit. Damn it. Okay.” A smile she hadn’t meant to let take over bloomed as she tried to conjure a response. “Romance…  _ love… _ It’s like. A really great friendship. But louder in your head. You think about them all the time. You wanna be close to them, physically, and you wanna make sure they’re okay all the time. You worry about them, and it's  _ so _ easy for them to piss you off. When you argue with someone you love romantically it just… it feels like it matters more? Because you care about them so much, and you so desperately want them to agree with you, that when they don’t, it’s  _ infuriating _ .” She shook her head. “And you… you cool off sometimes. And then it’s hard. You have to decide to work at it. That they’re worth working. At it for. You have to want the best for them. You’d take an arrow to the knee to give them a leg up in the world. And even when you fight, it’s just cause they matter so much that it hurts. It hurts in your chest, in your throat.”

She looked up, but Bull was just giving her that chessboard look. She pressed on, spreading her fingers out in front of her.

“But they’re a laugh. And their habits become little comforts- and their body heat helps you sleep. It’s not the same without them next to you. And you… well. You get the point. I love my friends and would die for any of them, trust me, but that kinda love is something that happens to you, and then for some reason you choose to just keep twisting the knife. Like… like a piercing!” Her eyes lit up and she grinned.  _ That was exactly it. _ “It hurts and it keeps hurting, and you gotta take care of it and keep something there. Keep it clean, keep it maintained, let it heal. And even when it’s gone, there’s a scar, but they’re worth it, and you do it anyway, y’know?” She nodded, satisfied that the analogy worked. “Some folk do it a bunch, some people get hooked on it, and some people never even get one, but that’s what it’s like. Like a piercing in your heart.”

“Sounds awful.”

Gunner looked up at him and nodded. “It is. But it’s also great. The best, actually.” She reached up and pulled on her earlobe, at the place where she’d had holes for earrings before she’d been sent off to the Circle and taken them out. Her life before. How could someone have so many different lives before?

“You loved that Templar?”

“Yeah. Just the once. She was great. If we lived in a different world, in a different time… but we don’t, so there’s no point in thinking about it.” She rolled her shoulder and drummed her knuckles on the table. “I think you’ve mentioned other people you’ve passed time with. How many people in Skyhold have you slept with?”

“I don’t keep count, really, but if I had to guess… Three or four? A couple serving girls and the short guy who works at the medic station here for the soldiers, he was recent.” He scratched behind his ear and smirked. “You?”

“Since Haven I haven’t screwed anyone. I had a tumble with a scout out there, but she was a dull lay. Since then I haven’t had a chance but you and Corrienne.” Bull scowled when Gunner mentioned her, but she pretended not to notice. “Why haven’t you slept with Dorian??”

Bull shrugged. “One snotty brat of a mage is enough for me at one time. Why haven’t you made a move on Sera?”

“I don’t want her to feel like she has to. I’m her boss.”

“You’re my boss too.” He pointed out. Gunner raised her hands in surrender.

“We don’t have to ever again if you don’t want to.”

“Did I say that?”

“Sounded a little like you were complaining.” She said, standing up and turning her back on him. She adjusted a scroll she’d nailed to the wall the month she’d found the room. It always settled crooked, but she kept it up anyway.

“I wasn’t.”

“If you ever don’t want to, you just have to tell me.” She spoke to the wall, looking over the words written on the scroll. It was a poem. Not a good one, either. 

Bull got to his feet, walking up behind her, resting one hand on her forearm, still stretched out to the rope the scroll hung from. His other pressed flat against the wall next to her, a fair bit over her head. 

“And If I want to?” He asked, voice low and familiar. She turned, looking up at him with a cocky smile she knew bothered him.

“Just ask.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> Gunner: I’ve Been Dead All Day, Bayside
> 
> Cullen: Warm Me Up, The Audition 
> 
> Krem: Could Have Been Me, The Struts
> 
> Bull: Fever, The Black Keys


	8. Making Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is basically just a sex chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm feeling a little unsure about this one but if I continue to stare at this specific arrangement of words I might delete my account.

Bull leaned down and pressed his lips to Gunner’s. She was soft, her scars made little bumps along her bottom lip that he could almost see in his mind, pressed flat. She pulled slowly back, her eyes slightly hooded, her face serene.

“Can I fuck you right now?” He asked. His hands found her waist. Rarely ever did he wish for his damaged fingers to be whole again, but he wished they were then; if only so that he could feel more of her at once. It was a type of starvation. A full bodied need that rolled up into his chest from somewhere deep in his stomach.

“Of course.” She replied, “but don’t be gentle. I know what you wanted when you were watching her and I.” Her voice was calm, cool, detached. There was an aristocratic lilt to it that he had thought she’d left in the Free Marches decades ago. “You wanted to show her what it’s like to take what you want.” She looked up at him, smirking, arching a brow. She was so  _ cocky _ . So fucking smug with that filthy little mouth. Bull ran his hand up her side, over her chest, up to her neck. He rested it there, looking down at her.

“Oh? Is that what I was thinking?”

And still, Gunner  _ smirked. _ “What, you’re trying to tell me that you  _ weren’t _ imagining what you’d do if you were her? Or…  _ maybe _ if you were me?” She smiled, her eyes narrowing. “Were you jealous while she had me on my knees?  _ Or _ were you jealous I got to eat my fill?”

Bull gripped her jaw, tilting her face up and glaring into her sparkling yellow eyes. Foxlike, sharp. She still sneered even as his fingers dug in. “If you’re trying to rile me up, it’s working, and I would advise you to stop.”

“I want to know,  _ The _ Iron Bull.” She pushed her face harder into his hand, probably bruising her own cheeks as she shuffled her feet. “What was it that was going through your mind while you watched me fuck her?” He felt his heart speed up as her voice dipped lower. “Did it get you hot? Watching her getting off, using me like a tool? Did you think about how she was using me in a way  _ you _ haven’t yet?“

His breath was heavy, and he saw it play out in his mind, her jaw moving and her hands sliding against skin as Corrienne shoved her face between her legs. Corrienne had made eye contact with him. She’d thought he was just the brawn. She hadn’t known  _ he’d _ had what she was just getting a taste of. That Gunner had submitted to him willingly. 

“Or did it piss you off? That I just had you there to watch my back while I got a hot woman off. Have you ever done that? As Ben-Hassarath? Have you ever been the whore? They trained you for it, didn’t you say that? Was I sloppy?” Her voice was getting an edge now. He was trying to be patient, to sort through the feelings rolling over him as she ran her mouth, but she kept pressing. “Isn’t that what you said would make me happy? Becoming a tool? My abilities, mind, body. A thing to be used. Did you like seeing me put to use?”

Anger snapped in his chest, and he pushed his thumb bluntly into her mouth. Her eyes flashed wide, a little surprised, but she didn’t fight the intrusion. 

“You want to act like a whore? Then you should know there are better uses for that damn mouth of yours.” He snarled, backing her up against the wall and rocking his thumb in and out from between her lips. Her eyelids fluttered, and she sucked hard. She rolled her tongue over it, flicking at the tip as he pulled his hand free and glared at her.

“Get on your knees.” He breathed. With a thud she hit the ground, her head tilted up and her lips slightly parted as she stared up at him expectantly. 

Bull reached down, slowly undoing his belt and casting it aside before unfastening his trousers. His dick was half hard just from her speech and the little stunt with her tongue. As he took his cock out her eyes shot wide, a little smile playing on her face. Just then he realised she’d never seen it in a fully lit room before. 

“Suck it.” He growled, grabbing a fist full of her hair and guiding her to the head. She swallowed down his head eagerly, her jaw wide as she tried to accommodate his size. If she didn’t look so eager he might have felt bad, gone easy; she was so damn  _ small… _ but her eyelids were fluttering, and her cheeks were hollowing out as she sucked at his cockhead.

He groaned, rocking his hips forward slightly as she tried to fit more of him into her hot, wet mouth. His dick was throbbing, he was almost dizzy from the feeling of her lips working their way down his shaft as she worked to get him deeper down her throat. Suddenly, she shifted her tongue, running it along the underside of his cock and fixing his gaze with a hungry look that made his stomach lurch. She pushed forward and swallowed hard around him, her throat tightening suddenly around his head.

He swore, his hips stuttering and jerking as she hummed happily, sending vibrations straight up his dick that made his knees weak. He pulled her off him by her hair. She released reluctantly, her mouth making a filthy popping sound as the suction was broken. 

“Damn, where did you learn to do that?” He growled, “I almost came down your throat.”

Gunner looked pissed off. Her eyes kept flicking to his still hard cock as she ran her tongue over her teeth. “Why didn’t you?” She finally snapped, looking up at him. Bull stared at her.

“Because I’m going to fuck you.”

Gunner leaned forward slightly, straining against the tight grip he had on her hair. She looked at his dick, then back up and him. He could practically see her mind whirring.  _ What the hell did she want? _

“Don’t you want to come in my mouth?” She asked. Bull had never felt so blindsided in his life. Gunner fidgeted, her eyes flicking around the room for a moment before she reached up and started undoing her shirt. “I haven’t even started yet.”

Bull shook his head. “No, I wanna fuck you. If I wanted to come in your mouth in a few minutes I woulda fucked a barmaid.”

“Thought you let the serving girls bounce on top?” She teased, peeling her shirt off and beginning to pull her bandages free. Bull grunted.

“Yeah, yeah, throwing shit I said earlier back at me’s real cute.” He bent down and picked her up, turning around as she squeaked indignantly and gripped his harness- as if he would ever drop her. He set her down on the table and began pulling at her belt while she kept undoing her bandages, not bothering to roll them like she normally did and ending up tangled in large loops of soft cotton as she freed her chest. He caught her wrists and drew them to his shoulders, bending and kissing her lips again as he pulled her trousers and underwear down. He yanked her boots off, then her trousers followed. He was back on her, biting her shoulders, running his hands over her thighs as he toed his boots off and kicked them aside, stepping out of his trousers and pressing a kiss to her chest. 

She threw her arms around his neck and scooted her hips down to the edge of the table. Her heels pressed behind his hips, guiding him to her as she wriggled around. He sighed. 

“Quit moving around so damn much. You’re in a rush all of a sudden.”

“I wanna get you off.” She growled. He looked up at her and frowned. 

“What’s up with you?” He grabbed her hips, pinning them still. Her hands slid down to his harness again, her knuckles pressing hard against his skin as she gripped it.

Her features seemed to harden, and she was fixing him with an odd kind of look. As though she was weighing what she was saying carefully. It was the look of a dishonest person. “What, you wanna play therapist now too? That’s what I keep Varric around for. He and I sit around and sing about our feelings all day long.”

There was something about that sentence that pissed him off. “C’mon. I’ve told you not to lie to me before, Gunner.” His voice came out more exasperated than he had meant to sound. She let go of him, putting her hands down on the table behind her and looking at him again.

“What do you want?” She asked, her eyes narrowing a little. He shook his head.

“That’s not what this is about.”

“Then what is this about? If you don’t want to do this then why the hell are we here?” Her voice cracked, and she looked around her. 

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to. I’m saying that you’re acting odd.” Bull leaned forward and narrowed his eye at her. She tilted her head and then sighed.

“I wanna feel used.” She said, a blush beginning to rise to her cheeks. She looked down, flicking her eyes over his body and then back up to his face. “I want to feel wanted. Needed. As more than a stupid Herald or harbinger or anchor or… dammit, whatever. I’m so sick of being everyone’s hero.” She dropped her legs back down against the table. “I’m good at this.” She said, pushing her chin into the air and smirking in a bitter way. “Fucking. Sucking people off. Very talented. It comes real natural to me, y’know.” The smirk faded, and she closed her eyes. “Shit. Forget about it.” She made to get up, but Bull pinned her down. 

“Why would I do that?”

“Cause I’m trouble.”

“I like trouble.” He said, bringing one hand to her shoulder and pushing her down flat against the table. “Say Katoh if you want me to stop.” 

Her legs came up again, wrapping around his hips so easy, so naturally. His other hand he slid between her legs, slipping his middle finger between her lips, parting her and hissing when he felt that she was dripping wet. 

“Maker. You got pretty riled up from sucking my cock, huh?” He said, glancing down to watch his finger sink into her. She made a noise in her throat, pushing her hips up into his hand. 

“I like it.” She breathed, the words curling up as he crooked his finger against that little spot inside her. “Damn it… Shit-“

“Foul mouth.” He hissed, pushing his other hand flat against her sternum and adding a second finger. He took his time, hoping he’d cool down a little from the blow job and last more than a minute, but feeling how wet she was drove all reason out of his head. 

He wanted to be inside her, and he was starting to care less and less about how long it’d last as she whined and ran her mouth, rolling her hips and trying to pull him in with her legs. Her hands were gripping the edges of the table so hard her knuckles were white. “Quit teasing you Qunari bastard-“ She hissed out, all in her breathy little aristocratic tone. He took his hand out and swatted her thigh.

“Careful with that name calling, Basra.” He hissed. She jerked and moaned, full throated and followed with the most beautiful arch he thought he’d ever seen. That lean little body curving against a damaged wooden desk… Suddenly he wanted to fuck her on every flat surface in Skyhold, he wanted to hear that noise in every territory in Thedas. 

“Fuck me…” She gasped, rolling her hips up toward him. Her brow was furrowed, and she was almost pouting, acting the spoiled little human aristocrat down to the bone. Bull couldn’t stop himself. He lined his dick up and pushed inside her. Her eyelids fluttered. Her mouth fell open, and she felt so good, so  _ right _ . 

“Damn it…” He growled. He curled his hands around her waist, his thumbs actually touching as he rolled his hips, starting up a rhythm slower than usual, watching her take all of him with something halfway between guilt and amazement. She seemed gone to it- she was moaning, the tendons in her throat standing out as her face reddened, her hands looking for somewhere to grip while her body took every inch of him. Her muscles contracted around him. Her eyes rolled back. 

He hadn’t realized she was so close, but she was sobbing as it ran through her, her legs trembling as she arched again, and he still couldn’t help himself. He started to pick up the pace. He snapped his hips against her, watching her whole body respond to the feeling of his cock slamming in and out of her, the way the impact jarred her. The noises she made- completely uninhibited, swearing and digging her fingernails into the desk, into his arms, into anything she could reach. He was getting close, he could feel his body tighten up, close to breaking, and he bent down, biting down hard at the base of her neck as he buried himself inside her and came. She moaned when he did- she always moaned when he came, he wondered what it felt like- and he drew back, taking in the bruises and bite marks all over the Inquisitor.

_ No one could see her naked now and not know. _ He thought, and he felt an odd kind of satisfaction, even as he slipped out of her and she groaned. She propped herself up on her elbows, looking so debauched that his stomach gave a familiar little lurch as he looked at her. 

“We should probably get back to business, huh?” She sighed, looking around with a disappointed kind of expression. “Isn’t it always over too soon?” She said, shooting him a sneer.

“Yeah, well. You and I have gotta find a bed next time. You’re gonna get sore from getting pinned against all these hard surfaces.” He snapped back, pulling on his trousers. She rolled her eyes and flapped her hand dismissively.

“I get slapped around enough by every half-baked soldier, Templar and beast in Thedas, I think I can handle getting railed on a wood table.”

And there it was again, an odd twinge of irritation in his chest. He paused. What the hell  _ was _ that? “Yeah, well.” He said, glancing at her as she tossed her bandages aside and slid off the table to her feet, wriggling back into her trousers and letting out a hiss. 

“You always come so much.” She said with an off hand sort of air. “I’m gonna be dripping all day.”

Bull closed his eyes, trying not to think about the fact his come would be inside the Inquisitor as she sat through war room meetings and debriefings. He didn’t win that battle. “Is it distracting?” He asked, his voice slightly raspy. 

She stomped into her boots. “Yeah, it means there’s no forgetting what happened. I can feel it all day.” She sighed. He pulled his belt on, nodding. 

“I can start pulling out, if you want.” He offered. She snorted.

“Nah, I’d rather put up with thinking about getting railed during meetings and get the full experience when I’m with you.” She pulled on her shirt without binding, making it pull tight across her chest. He bit down on the inside of his cheek. She wasn’t going to be the only one distracted for the rest of the day, apparently.

“Okay. Well. Guess we should both go. I don’t think I remember exactly where we came in, though.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing down at her thighs, pressing together as she fussed with the fastenings of her collar.

The sunlight that filtered through the partially obscured window seemed to fall more gently on her than anything else in that dusty, chaotic room. All of the dents and scorch marks on the table, the crooked way the drawers she used as shelves sat, the broken bottles and pebbles resting on them for reasons that only made sense to her were all cast in an unforgiving glare. But the sun illuminated none of her flaws as it fell across her sharp features. Even the knot in her nose and the scars on her lip seemed charming as she looked up at him and pulled at her collar.

“Something wrong? Do I have some pre on my face?”

“Yeah, here.” He lied, licking his thumb and wiping along the bottom of her lip, pressing the scars flat again, watching her lips part as he did it. “There. Presentable as you ever get.”

The Inquisitor grinned at him in that mischievous way she did so often and laughed. “Rich, coming from mister tits out regardless of the weather.”

“Didn't hear you complaining earlier.” He grumbled, backing up toward the door. She laughed and strode past him, planting a solid kick at its center and sending it crashing to the floor. 

“Maybe you just weren’t listening too close.”

He rolled his eye. “Yeah, cause you’re so subtle and soft spoken, Boss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> Bull: Dilaudid, The Mountain Goats
> 
> Gunner: Shut Me Up. PRINCESSBRI


	9. An Awkward Admission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cullen finally says what's on his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gunner is just trying to get laid. poor Cullen. Every Inquisitor I've ever played as is always so flirty to poor Cullen, he's just so easy.

Slowly stirring her tea with a stick of cinnamon, Gunnora watched Leliana and Cullen bicker. They were disagreeing over intelligence questions.  _ What information needed gathering _ , and  _ whose forces should be sent out _ . Josephine seemed tired, and Cassandra’s temper was visibly wearing thin.

There were many things that needed their attention. Gunnora really should redirect their focus, but… she wasn’t feeling particularly productive herself. The afternoon sun was pleasantly warm and her instinct was to stretch her legs out and take a nap in a puddle of light like an overfed cat. She sipped her tea. 

“This is getting us nowhere.” Cassandra snapped, slamming her hands down on the table. “We need to come to a decision.” 

All eyes fell on Gunnora. She withdrew the cinnamon stick and placed it between her lips, returning her advisor’s stares one by one as she rolled it over her tongue. The cinnamon made her feel pleasantly warm.

“So forceful, Cassandra. Temper, temper.” She made a show of taking a long sip of her tea. “I think Leliana should take the lead on this. She is the spy master, after all.” She placed the cinnamon stick back on her bottom lip and smiled at Cullen. “Sorry, my friend. I promise it’s nothing personal.”

Cullen met her eyes fleetingly, and she thought she saw him blush slightly before looking away. Cassandra made a disgusted noise, and Gunnora stood. 

“Well, with that settled, I believe we’re done for today?” She pressed her thighs together, feeling the hot wetness between her legs increase as more cum leaked out of her. She drained her cup and set it down on the table. “Yes?”

The advisors all seemed taken aback, but she didn’t wait for their protests. She blurted out some sort of sarcastic farewell before darting from the room and down the hallway. 

She rushed through the main hall, ignoring the voices that addressed her. She ducked through the doorway and in toward her chambers. The smell of dust and wood smoke was thick and soothing as she jogged up the stairs. The buttons of her shirt made little popping noises as she wrenched it open.

Her fingers fumbled desperately at her belt. She gave up, stopping in the stairs and leaning against the wall, frantically undoing her trousers.

The door creaked as it swung open, and she swore, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Inquisitor, I- Oh!” 

Cullen stood at the base of the stairs, looking up at Gunnora with wide eyes. He shook himself, and turned his back, speaking a scramble of syllables that could have been an attempt at an apology or an explanation, had he been less flustered.

“Cullen. Calm down. I’m almost always under dressed anyway, and the sight of some skin won’t kill you. Close the door, though.” Her fingers flew to her buttons, and managed to fasten a few and then refasten her belt.

“I… yes… I apologize, I should have knocked, I simply didn’t-“

“What can I help you with, Commander?” She shook herself, trying to regain her usual air of casual complacence. Cullen stuttered for a moment, and she began to back up the stairs, returning to the task of buttoning her shirt. “Come, come in. We can have this discussion even if I don’t have the higher ground.” She cracked a smile, and he seemed to relax a little, although he still looked fairly flustered.

He followed her, and she realised that some of her buttons hadn’t survived her haste. Cullen was still avoiding her eyes. “I… We had agreed to finish our conversation from earlier, and you left so quickly I was frankly a little concerned- as, of course, I believe the other advisors surely are. But…” He paused, glancing back at the stairs and then around at the empty room. “Why  _ were _ you in such a rush?”

Gunnora’s lips parted, and a sound came from her without any real thoughts or intention behind it. “Ah. Well. I’m very tired, I’ve been travelling for a long time and I…” She paused, awkwardly holding her hands out to her sides before deciding to commit fully to one excuse, however weak it seemed. “I suppose it just hit me all at one time.”

Cullen nodded slowly, taking in her appearance again, the torn buttons, his eyes lingering on her face for just a heartbeat too long. “I see.” he paused. “So you would rather I leave you to rest now, I suppose?”

Gunnora hesitated. There was an odd kind of look in his eyes that she couldn’t really square with the conversation that they were having. “No, Commander. You and I should talk while we still have the chance. Opportunities for a tete a tete come rarely in a place like this.”

Cullen smiled a little, that funny little smirk that Gunner thought was so charming. “What, in your chambers?”

“You’d be surprised.” Gunner said with an awkward kind of chuckle. “But no. I meant Skyhold. It gets more and more crowded every day, it seems. Look at this morning, if you need an example.”

“No,” Cullen admitted with a laugh, “I know exactly what you mean. I suppose. Well. This morning… I was really just trying to say that…”

There was a long pause, and Gunnora was trying hard to ignore the way her stomach seemed to ache for something she should have had enough of. She rubbed the back of her neck and wrinkled her nose, trying to think out a response for his oncoming awkward fumbling at the fact she didn’t seem like a dangerous mage, a walking powder keg. He’d likely say that he valued her as a comrade, or at the very least thought she wasn’t likely to go mad and do blood magic in a desperate bid for power. 

“I think that there aren’t many people in this world who would have taken everything that’s happened to you in their stride. And I think that you deserve more credit than you get.” He swallowed, looking away, out over her balcony, his eyes finding the jagged horizon. Gunnora looked up at him in shock. “It’s a trick that you seem to do... you have this knack for being powerful and in control, all while putting people at ease. Cassandra, Leliana… they make people nervous.” He smiled to himself. “I think I sometimes do the same. But you? It doesn’t matter that you’re the head of the Inquisition. The only person you seem to make nervous is… well… me.” He looked back at her, and pursed his lips, folding his hands over the pommel of his sword. “Anyway. That’s what I had to say. I’ll… I’ll leave you to rest.”

“Ah…” Gunnora nodded. “I… alright. Thank you. For everything.” She swallowed, suddenly unable to look Cullen in the eye. He cleared his throat, and she watched his boots shuffle back and then retreat. 

Gunnora suddenly really did feel exhausted. She waited for the sound of her door, and then she turned, peeling off her shirt and shoes, casting her trousers aside and climbing into her bed. She settled down, closing her eyes against the bright sun in her room. Her buzzing, tired mind ran in circles, long after the sun had hidden itself amongst the mountain ranges. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> Gunner: Addarall, Max Frost
> 
> Cullen: Could Have Been Me, The Struts


	10. Realization, and Coping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bull figures something out and tries to deal with it. M/M sex with an unimportant OC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter I oddly struggled a lot with

Bull was in the main hall, walking through to hand over some objects from the Charger’s most recent mission for research. He paused, surprised to see the door that led to Gunner’s bed chambers open. Cullen stepped out. His eyes met Bull’s, and he gave a nod. The expression on his face seemed subversive, and Bull made up his mind to go find out what was going on. 

“Hey, Commander Cullen! Don’t see a lot of you around here. Are you looking for Gunner?”

Cullen paused, looking up at Bull and then shaking his head. “Oh, the Inquisitor, you mean? I just finished speaking with her. She’s resting. Ended a war room meeting early because she was tired.”

Bull raised an eyebrow. “And you were summoned to the Boss’s Chamber for… a debriefing?”

Cullen blushed, his mouth twitching. “We had more to discuss.” He said. His tone was defensive. Something about that kinda pissed Bull off, but he couldn’t really place what it was. 

“Hey.” He said, treading backward and spreading his arms wide. “If you don’t wanna share, it’s none of my business. I’m just too curious for my own good. Don’t mean anything by it.”

“Of course! But I can’t discuss what the Inquisitor may want to keep private.” The Retired Templar said, flashing Bull a polite smile. “I have to go continue my work. Good to see you, as always, Iron Bull.”

And with that, Bull waved and Cullen walked off. There was a feeling in his throat that reached all the way down to stomach like he’d just swallowed a mouthful of vinegar as he watched the man walk right out of the hall and into the courtyard. Why was that? He ran through everything that just happened. 

Cullen had been slinking out of the Inquisitor’s room. He probably just fucked Gunner. The sour, acidic feeling grew sharper. Now... why did that piss him off? Sure, it was surprising that she’d want to have a go with someone just a few hours after they’d finished, but it had been a quickie, and he didn’t really have a gauge for whether or not that was satisfying for her. She’d definitely finished, he’d felt it, and she wasn’t exactly the type who’d let something like that slide. He had thought she’d been quick to get dressed. Usually she dragged it out. Hell, when they shared a tent she even cuddled. Maybe she’d planned the run in with Cullen. Now the thought of that set his teeth on edge. Interesting.

He pondered that as he handed in the creature research objects. Why did the idea of Gunner having sex with someone else make his skin itch? Why did he want to barge into her room and do all the things he had always said he would when he got her in a bed? Hell, why did he think about her so much?

Up until then he had just thought that she was his employer, a good friend, and a great lay. But something here wasn’t adding up. It wasn’t even that he was worried she would choose to take Cullen out on missions rather than him, because Cullen didn’t do field missions. He wasn’t frustrated that she went to Cullen and not him, because he’d already had sex with her that day. So why did the idea of them having boring missionary make him want to go and take on Corypheus’ Archdemon all by himself? 

He paused. “Shit.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, gritting his teeth against the realisation that had just hit him like a charging ram.

He was _ jealous _ . Why the hell was he jealous? Because Gunner was screwing someone else? Was it because it was specifically Cullen? He cast around, looking out over the courtyard, catching sight of Cullen’s retreating form, climbing the stairs up to the perimeter wall. No, it wasn’t him. It was her. She’d gotten into his head somehow. 

Something had to be done about this. He couldn’t have some kind of fixation on his Boss. He cast around again, his eyes landing on one of the men who worked in the forge. 

He was fit, maybe in his early thirties. Clean shaven, and he looked like he might have some Vint blood in him. Bull rolled his shoulders and walked over just in time to intercept him before he reached the door of the tavern.

“Hey, I’ve seen you around, haven’t I?” He asked, cracking a smile. The man stopped and looked up at him, returning the grin.

“I suppose you must have, you have the advantage of a pretty good view.”

Bull leaned in. He let his eyes trace over the man slowly. “Yes, I do. What do you say to me buying you a drink and talking about your day?”

“Only if you promise there won’t be too much talking.” He countered, obviously trying to appear unflappable despite the pink tinge that was blooming across his cheeks. “They call me Crispin.” He said, holding his hand out. Bull took it, straightening up and smiling. 

“I’m The Iron Bull.”

………………………

Bull pushed Crispin against his bedroom wall, one hand keeping him there as he worked him open with the other. He could hear him gasping and struggling for breath as he worked two of his fingers in and out. The oil he was using was running down the man’s tan legs. It caught the candle light. The way it made his skin gleam like gold made Bull think of a dream. 

“Tell me when you feel ready.” He breathed, watching Crispin rock backward onto his fingers. The man shivered, and a little sound fell from his lips. Bull added a third finger, drawing another strangled little noise from him. There was something so easy about this. It was so simple. Watching the red in his face spread down his chest, every muscle in his body tense as he bit his bottom lip. 

“Please.” He finally moaned, his hands curling into fists against the wall. Bull didn’t make him say more. He slicked his own cock up and pressed his head to Crispin’s entrance. 

“Tell me if it’s too much.” Bull said, taking hold of his hips as he sank in. The man under him shuddered and arched, lips parted to reveal gritted teeth as he struggled to stay silent.

He was pretty like that. He had a tight little body that felt damn good around Bull’s cock, too. Crispin wasn’t talkative. He didn’t yell or bark orders, he didn’t let himself get lost to it all. Even as Bull found that angle that brought tears to his eyes and hit it with every stroke, he didn’t hiss any swearwords or say Bull’s name. 

“I’m gonna-” He whispered, his voice broken. He screwed his face up. “Maker!”

“He doesn’t have anything to do with it.” Bull growled, bringing his hand down and pumping over Crispin’s dick once, twice-

Come spilled over his fingers. The human’s muscles contracted around him, catching him by surprise. He pulled out, switching his hand onto his own cock, finishing on Crispin’s back. He watched his semen run down the little indents between his muscles, dripping over his round ass. It was satisfying, knowing that he’d satisfied someone.

“Damn…” Crispin gasped, wiggling his hips and arching again before straightening up. “I haven’t gotten it that good since before Haven. I almost feel like I owe you.” He turned and leaned his shoulders against the wall, accepting the towel Bull offered him and beginning to wipe himself down.

Bull gave a short chuckle and nodded, taking up another cloth and cleaning himself up. It was odd. He’d wanted Crispin to speak up while they fucked, and now they were done he just wanted to be alone. Maybe he’d had too much to drink?

“Well, I have to get fuel in the forges first thing in the morning, so I’m going to head on back to my dorm. Thanks, this was great.” Crispin said, pulling his trousers on. 

“No, no,” Bull said, pulling on a pair of boxers and handing Crispin’s shirt over to him, “Thank  _ you _ .” 

Crispin let out a nervous kind of laugh and blushed as he tucked his shirt in and stepped into his shoes. Bull let him out of the room and then turned to his bed, glad that he could go straight to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> Bull: Mr Brightside, The Killers
> 
> Cullen: Sweet Tangerine, The Hush Sound
> 
> Just Friends, Hayden James , Boy Matthews

**Author's Note:**

> Overall theme songs: 
> 
> You Really Shouldn’t’ve, Chlara 
> 
> Smells Like Sex, Sizzy Rocket
> 
> Like Lovers Do, Hey Violet
> 
> Fresh Blood, Eels
> 
> When You Sleep, Cake
> 
> Can’t Go To Hell, Sin Shake Sin


End file.
